' 

r 


DEMOCRACY 


IN  THE 


UNITED    STATES 


WHAT  IT  HAS  DONE,  WHAT  IT  IS  DOING, 
AND  WHAT  IT  WILL  DO. 


BY 


RANSOM   H.  -GILLET, 


FORMERLY    MEMBER    OF    CONGRESS    FROM  ST.   LATVRENCE  COUNTY,  N.  Y.  ;   MORE  RECENTLY 

REGISTRAR  AND    SOLICITOR  OF  THE    UNITED    STATES  TREASURY  DEPARTMENT, 

AND  SOLICITOR  FOR  THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  TUB  COURT  OF  CLAIMS, 

COtTNSELLOR-AT-LAW,  ETC. 


NEW  YORK: 
D.    APPLETON  AND   COMPANY, 

90,  92  &  94  GRAND  STREET. 
1868. 


ENTEKED,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1SC8,  by 

I).  APPLETON  &  CO., 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States  for  the  Southern 
District  of  New  York. 


TO 

HORATIO     SEYMOUR, 

THE   HONEST   MAN, 

THE     CHRISTIAN     CITIZEN,     THE     PATRIOTIC     MAGISTRATE, 

AND 
THE   ENLIGHTENED   STATESMAN, 

&Iji;3  sKMume  is  rtspwtfullg 

BT  HIS  PEIEND 

THE     AUTHOR. 


PBEFACE. 


IT  hardly  need  be  stated  that  the  pressure  of  professional 
business,  and  the  never-ending  duties  of  official  life,  are  not 
favorable  to  authorship.  The  author  of  this  work  was  per 
suaded  by  valued  friends  to  prepare  it,  not  because  he  was 
accustomed  to  literary  pursuits,  but  because  it  was  supposed 
that  his  practical  knowledge  of  the  administration  of  Gov 
ernment  might  be  of  service  to  his  fellow-citizens.  He  is 
always  ready  to  do  his  part  as  an  American  citizen,  and  to 
aid  the  great  cause  of  Democracy,  which  is  the  only  source 
of  safety  to  the  American  Republic.  He  has  often  been  hon 
ored  by  the  Democratic  party,  and  he  knows  of  no  higher 
privilege  than  that  of  exerting  his  humble  powers  to  make 
known  its  glorious  record.  But  three  months  were  given  him 
to  prepare  the  volume ;  and  the  reader  will  hardly  expect  in 
it  any  details  of  record  or  displays  of  language.  It  can  only 
be  regarded  as  a  brief  outline  of  the  history  of  the  Demo 
cratic  party  in  this  country — intended  to  lead  the  reader  to 
certain  great  facts  and  principles  as  connected  with  the  suc 
cess  of  republican  Government  in  the  United  States.  He 
has  not  attempted  to  solve  any  abstruse  propositions  in  polit 
ical  science,  nor  is  he  conscious  of  having  been  actuated  by 


VI  PREFACE. 

the  motives  of  a  mere  partisan.  He  favors  the  Democratic 
party,  because  that  party  is  the  only  one  that  has  succeeded 
in  administering  the  Government  successfully.  It  has  been, 
and  still  is,  the  constitutional  party ;  and  whoever  adds  to  its 
means  of  influence,  subserves  the  cause  of  truth  and  duty. 

The  author  has  endeavored  accurately  to  give  facts  as 
they  will  be  found  recorded,  and,  in  expressing  his  opinions, 
to  avoid  injustice  to  others.  To  denounce  error  and  dishon 
esty  is  the  part  of  an  honest  man,  and  it  cannot  be  evaded. 
The  opponents  of  Democracy  will  ever  be  held  responsible 
for  what  they  say  and  do,  particularly  when  their  measures 
and  opinions  prove  to  be  adverse  to  the  peace  and  pros 
perity  of  the  country.  A  true  Democrat  serves  himself  only 
when  he  serves  his  country ;  and,  if  this  work  shall  tend  in 
any  degree  to  turn  men  from  the  path  of  error  to  that  of 
duty,  or  to  establish  more  fully  those  who  are  already  in  the 
way  of  truth  and  safety,  the  author  will  have  no  cause  to  re 
gret  that  he  was  persuaded  to  give  his  imperfect  labors  to 
the  public. 

R.  H.  GILLET. 

NEW-LEBANON  SPRINGS,  April,  1868. 


PUBLISIIEES'    NOTICE. 


IT  is  common  among  readers  to  wish  to  know  something 
respecting  their  author,  especially  if  he  communicates  infor 
mation  which  is  in  conflict  with  statements  made  by  others, 
or  expresses  opinions  for  their  acceptance  which  require  a 
modification  of  their  own.  The  honest  reader  wants  TRUTH, 
whatever  it  may  be — and  it  is  a  step  in  the  right  direction  if 
he  be  assured  of  the  integrity  and  established  wisdom  of  his 
author.  There  are  honest  men  of  all  parties ;  and  the  pub 
lishers,  so  far  as  they  are  able,  employ  only  such  as  authors. 
We  are  permitted  by  the  author  of  this  volume  to  give  the 
following  sketch,  mostly  taken  from  "  LANMAN'S  DICTIONARY 
OF  CONGRESS  " — published  some  years  before  the  rebellion : 
"  Mr.  GILLET  was  born  in  New  Lebanon,  Columbia  Coun 
ty,  N.  Y.,  January  27, 1800.  His  early  employment  was  farm 
ing  on  his  father's  farm,  in  Saratoga  County,  in  the  summer, 
and  lumbering  in  the  pine-forest  during  the  winter.  In  1819 
he  removed  to  St.  Lawrence  County,  where  he  was  employed 
to  teach  school  during  the  winter,  while  he  attended  the  St. 
Lawrence  Academy  during  the  summer.  In  1821  he  en 
gaged  in  the  study  of  the  law  with  the  late  Silas  "Wright,  at 
Canton,  still  continuing  to  teach  for  his  support.  He  was 
soon  admitted  to  the  bar,  practising  in  the  local  courts,  and 


Vlll  PUBLISHERS7   NOTICE. 

finally  settled  in  Ogdensburg,  where  he  continued,  mainly 
devoted  to  the  profession,  for  about  twenty  years.  In  1827 
he  was  appointed  brigade  major  and  inspector  of  the  49th 
brigade  of  militia,  and  for  ten  years  drilled  and  inspected 
six  large  regiments  in  St.  Lawrence  and  Jefferson  Counties  ; 
February  27,  1830,  he  was  appointed  postmaster  at  Og 
densburg,  which  office  he  filled  about  three  years;  in  1832 
he  was  a  member  of  the  first  Baltimore  Convention  which 
nominated  General  Jackson  for  President;  he  was  elected  in 
November  of  that  year  to  Congress  to  represent  St.  Lawrence 
and  Franklin  Counties,  and  reflected  in  1834,  and  served 
while  in  Congress  as  a  member  of  the  Committee  on  Com 
merce  ;  in  1837  he  was  appointed  by  President  Van  Buren 
a  commissioner  to  treat  with  the  Indian  tribes  in  New  York, 
and  continued  in  that  service  until  March,  1839;  and  in 
1840  was  a  member  of  the  Baltimore  Convention  which  re- 
nominated  Mr.  Van  Buren  (and  drew  the  celebrated  reso 
lutions  of  that  year,  still  forming  a  portion  of  the  Demo 
cratic  platform),  and  then  engaged  in  the  practice  of  law  and 
continued  to  do  so  until  1845,  when  President  Polk  appointed 
him  Register  of  the  Treasury,  in  which  office  he  served  until 
May,  1847,  when  he  was  promoted  to  the  office  of  Solicitor 
of  the  Treasury,  in  which  place  he  continued  until  the  au 
tumn  of  1849  ;  he  then  resumed  the  practice  of  law  in  New 
York;  February  1,  1855,  he  became  Assistant  to  the  Attor 
ney-General  of  the  United  States,  and  continued  in  that  of 
fice  until  he  resigned  in  1858  ;  President  Buchanan  tendered 
him  the  place  of  Solicitor  of  the  Court  of  Claims,  which 
he  accepted,  and  is  still  (1859)  performing  the  duties  of  that 
office."  He  held  this  office  until  March,  1861,  when  he  was 
removed  by  President  Lincoln — because  lie  was  a  Democrat. 


IX 

In  1855  he  delivered,  before  an  Association,  in  Washing 
ton,  an  address  "  On  the  Origin  and  Formation  of  the  Con 
stitution."  On  November  6,  1860,  he  delivered,  before  the 
Jackson  Association,  Washington,  an  address  denouncing 
secession  and  predicting  its  consequences,  which  was  pub 
lished  in  the  National  Intelligencer  in  December  of  that 
year.  When  Mr.  Stanton  was  appointed  Secretary  of  War, 
he  transferred  his  law  business  in  the  -local  Supreme  Court  to 
Mr.  Gillet,  and  he  continued  to  labor  in  his  profession  until 
1865,  when  he  retired  to  the  beautiful  valley  of  New  Leb 
anon  Springs,  N".  Y.,  his  native  place,  to  reenjoy  the  moun 
tain  scenery  of  his  youth.  It  may  be  added,  with  great 
propriety,  that  Mr.  Gillet  was  highly  esteemed  by  Presi 
dent  Jackson,  and  that  no  man  living  commanded  more  the 
respect  and  confidence  of  the  late  Chief-Justice  Taney.  He 
was  frequently  consulted  by  Presidents  Yan  Bureu,  Polk, 
and  Taylor,  and  enjoyed  the  confidence  and  friendship  of 
Presidents  Fillmore,  Pierce,  and  Buchanan.  His  great  abil 
ity  as  a  lawyer  is  only  excelled  by  his  modesty  and  good 
ness  as  a  man,  and  he  has  very  reluctantly  consented  to  the 
publication  of  this  notice  to  gratify  his  friends. 


TABLE    OF    CONTENTS. 


PAGE, 

1.  Forms  of  Government,          ......        1 

2.  Party  Names,       .......  3 

3.  Democratic  Principles  contrasted  with  others,  .  .  .4 

4.  Washington's  Administration,      .....  8 
6.  John  Adams's  Administration,           .             .             .             .             .8 

6.  Anti-Democratic  Naturalization  Laws,     .             .  .             .             11 

7.  The  Political  Kevolution  of  1800,      .            .  .            .            .13 

8.  Attempt  to  deprive  Mr.  Jefferson  of  his  Election,  .            .            14 

9.  Thomas  Jefferson,     .             .             .             .  .             .             .15 

10.  Jefferson's  Political  Principles,    .            .            .            .            .  18 

11.  Jefferson's  First  Term  as  President,              .            .            .  .23 

12.  Jefferson's  Acquisition  of  Louisiana,        ....  24 

13.  Pirates  and  the  Freedom  of  the  Sea,             .            .            .  .26 

14.  New  England  Clergymen  preaching  Anti-Democratic  Principles,  27 

15.  Secession  proposed  by  the  Anti-Democrats  of  New  England,  .       29 

16.  One  of  Nature's  Noblemen,         .            ....  34 

17.  Proposition  to  impeach  Mr.  Jefferson,           .            .            .  .36 

18.  Why  the  Embargo  was  abandoned,          ....  38 

19.  "  Free  Trade  and  Sailors'  Rights,"    .             .             .             .  .41 

20.  James  Madison  and  his  Political  Principles,         ...  45 

21.  The  Declaration  of  War,        .             .             .             .             .  .47 

22.  The  Anti-Democrats  endeavored  to  prevent  Loans  and  Enlistments,       50 

23.  The  Navy  and  Naval  Heroes,             .             .             .             .  .51 

24.  William  Bainbridge,         .             .             .             .             .             .  53 

25.  Charles  Stewart,         .......       54 

26.  Stephen  Decatur,              ......  55 

27.  Isaac  Hull,     ........       56 

28.  Oliver  Hazard  Perry,       ......  57 

29.  John  Rodgers,           ....  .58 


Xll  CONTENTS. 

PAGE. 

80.  Thomas  MacDonough,     .  .  .  .  .  .  59 

31.  James  Lawrence,       .  .  .  .  .  .  .60 

32.  David  Porter,       .......  61 

33.  The  Army  and  its  Officers,    .  .  .  .  .  .63 

34.  Zebulon  Montgomery  Pike,          .....  64 

35.  Alexander  Macomb,  .  .  .  .  .  .  .65 

36.  John  E.  Wool,     .......  65 

37.  Jacob  Brown,  .......       66 

38.  Andrew  Jackson,  ......  67 

39.  Eleazar  W.  Ripley,   .......       69 

40.  Peter  B.  Porter,  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  69 

41.  William  J.  Worth, 70 

42.  The  Principles  and  Intentions  of  the  Anti-Democratic  Party  during 

the  War  of  1812,        ...... 

43.  Daniel  D.  Tompkins,  ...... 

44.  Burning  Blue-Lights,       .  ... 

45.  Disunion  proposed  by  the  Federalists,          .... 

46.  The  Hartford  Convention  of  1814,.          .... 

47.  John  Holmes's  Description  of  the  Hartford  Convention  and  its 

Authors,   ........ 

48.  Mr.  Madison's  Second  Term,        ..... 

49.  The  Invasion,  Sacking,  and  Burning  of  Washington, 

50.  The  Battle  of  New  Orleans,          ..... 

51.  The  Bank  Bills  of  1815  and  1816,     ..... 

52.  James  Monroe,  and  his  Election  to  the  Presidency, 

53.  The  Era  of  Good  Feeling,      ...... 

54.  The  Monroe  Doctrine,      ...... 

55.  Banks  and  Banking  in  New  York,    ..... 

56.  The  Acquisition  of  Florida,  ..... 

57.  Remarks  on  Mr.  Monroe's  Administration,    .... 

58.  The  New  York  State  Constitutions  of  1821  and  1846,     . 

59.  The  New  York  Electoral  Law  of  1824,          .... 

60.  Administration  of  John  Quincy  Adams,  .... 

61.  Equality  the  only  Honest  Basis  of  Legislation, 

62.  William  L.  .Marcy,  ...... 

63.  Political  Anti-Masonry,          .  .  .  .  . 

64.  Internal  Improvements  by  the  Government, 

G5.  Veto  of  the  United  States  Bank,      ..... 

66.  The  Removal  of  the  Deposits,      ..... 

67.  Senatorial  Condemnation  of  General  Jackson, 

68.  Michael  Hoffman,  ..... 

69.  Removals  from  Office,  ...... 

70.  "  Terrible  Distress  of  the  Country," 


CONTENTS.  Xlll 

PAGE. 

71.  The  Protective  System,       .  .  .  .  .  .152 

72.  The  Revival  of  a  Gold  Currency,   .....  156 

73.  Distribution  of  the  Public  Revenue,  ....     159 

74.  The  Specie  Circular,      .  .  .  .  .  .103 

75.  Thomas  H.  Benton,  .  .  .  .  .  .166 

76.  Distribution  of  the  Public  Lands,  and  Land  Sales,         .  .  169 

77.  Disunion  in  its  Early  Stages,  .  .  .  .  .171 

78.  Washington's  Farewell  Address,  ....  173 

79.  Silas  Wright,  .  .  .  .  .  .  .176 

80.  Jackson's  Farewell  Address,       .....  183 

81.  Martin  Van  Buren,  .  .  .  .  .  .  .188 

82.  The  Sub-Treasury,          .  .  .  .  .  .195 

8?.  The  Presidential  Election  of  1840,  .  .  .  .  .199 

8-1.  Tariff  Duties  on  Foreign  Importations,  .  .  .  .  202 

8r.  John  A.  Dix,  .  .  .  .  .  .  .207 

8fi.  Internal  Revenue  Taxes,  .....  212 

8".  The  Force  of  Bad  Precedents  in  Legislation,  .  .  .     215 

88.  Heman  J.  Redfield,        .  .  .  .  .          218 

89.  Congress  responsible  for  the  Extravagance  of  the  National  Govern 

ment,      ........  221 

90.  Administration  of  John  Tyler,    .....  228 

9 1 .  James  K.  Polk,  his  Election  and  Political  Principles,          .            .  231 

92.  Mr.  Polk's  Administration,         .....  233 

93.  Zachary  Taylor  and  his  Administration,      ....  235 

94.  Millard  Fillmore  and  his  Administration,            .             .             .  237 

95.  John  Brown  at  Harper's  Ferry,       .....  240 
£6.  Azariah  C.  Flagg,           ......  242 

97.  Franklin  Pierce  and  his  Administration,      ....     246 

98.  James  Buchanan,  ......  248 

99.  Mr.  Buchanan's  Administration,      .  .  .  .  .251 

100.  The  Tyranny  of  Majorities  in  Congress,  .  .  .  257 

101.  Abraham  Lincoln,    .......     259 

102.  Mr.  Lincoln  on  his  Way  to  Washington,  .  .  .261 

103.  Mr.  Lincoln's  Inaugural  Address  and  its  Consequences,      .  .     264 

104.  Firing  the  First  Gun,      ......  266 

1 05.  The  Suspension  of  the  Writ  of  Habeas  Corpus,       .  .  .     270 

106.  Spies  and  Secret-Service  Agents,  ....  273 

1 07.  The  Trial  of  Civilians  by  Military  Commissions,      .  .  .     276 

108.  The  Early  Avowed  Objects  of  the  War,  .  .  .279 

109.  Later  Avowed  Objects  of  the  War, .  .  .  .  .282 

110.  Mr.  Chase's  Financial  Plans  and  their  Consequences,     .  .  283 

111.  Mr.  Chase's  Banking  System,          .....     288 

112.  Why  the  War  lasted  so  long,     .  291 


XIV-  CONTENTS. 

PAGE. 

113.  Congressional  Fishing-Committees,  .....     294 

114.  Mr.  Lincoln's  Plan  of  Reconstruction,   ....          297 

115.  The  Injury  inflicted  upon  the  Negroes  by  the  Republican  Mode  of 

Manumission,      .......     299 

116.  Republican  Struggle  for  Power  and  the  Spoils, .  .  .          801 

117.  The  Reorganization  of  Louisiana  and  Arkansas,  and  what  came  of 

it,  

118.  Congressional  Caucuses,  ..... 

119.  The  Freedmen's  Bureau,      ..... 

120.  Mistakes  of  the  American  Clergy, 

121.  The  proposed  Fourteenth  Amendment  to  the  Constitution, 

122.  Later  Phases  of  Congressional  Reconstruction, 

123.  The  American  Press  and  the  Telegraph, 

124.  The  Secession  States  were  never,  in  Law,  out  of  the  Union, 

125.  Andrew  Johnson,    ...... 

126.  Impeachment  of  President  Johnson,      .... 

127.  Congress  and  the  Supreme  Court,    .... 

128.  Destruction  of  the  Highest  Court  in  the  District  of  Columbia,  . 

129.  Exchange  of  Prisoners  during  the  War, 

130.  What  our  Country  was,  is,  and  may  be,  ... 

131.  Dean  Richmond,      ...... 

132.  Negro  War-Services  and  Negro  Loyalty, 

133.  President  Johnson  and  Edwin  M.  Stanton,  . 

134.  Slander  as  Political  Capital,       ..... 

135.  What  has  the  Country  gained  by  Republican  Rule? 

136.  Are  not  all  the  States  in  Danger?          .... 

137.  Issues  to  be  tried  by  the  People,     .... 

138.  Expenses  of  the  National  Government,  . 

139.  Our  Public  Debt,     ...... 

140.  A  New  Department  of  the  Government, 

141.  The  Sedition  Laws  of  1798  revived, 

142.  Conclusion,        ...... 

143.  Appendix. — Constitution  of  the  United  States, 

144.  Appendix  No.  2.— The  Test  Vote, 


DEMOCRACY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


1.— FORMS  OF  GOVERNMENT. 

FORMS  of  government  have  been  undergoing  changes  since 
the  first  peopling  of  the  world,  commencing  with  the  patriarchs. 
Nearly  every  form  has  been  tried,  in  almost  every  country,  with 
ever- vary  ing  success.  We  have  seen  in  Rome  and  the  Grecian 
s":ates?  and  other  places,  republican  forms  of  government  prevail 
for  a  time.  These  have  been  changed  to  others  resting  upon  a 
more  doubtful  foundation.  Much  of  the  world  is  ruled  by  abso 
Lite  sovereigns,  who  make  laws  for  themselves,  and  construe  and 
execute  them,  all  at  their  pleasure.  In  a  few  countries,  like 
Great  Britain,  the  regal  power  is  restrained  by  legislative  author 
ity,  which  is  in  fact  elective  by  the  people.  A  purely  democratic 
form  of  government,  like  that  once  existing  in  Athens,  is  im 
practicable  in  countries  like  ours.  The  people  cannot  all  as 
semble  and  act  upon  questions  as  they  may  arise.  This  form  is 
also  open  to  the  objection,  that  large  multitudes  of  men  are  often 
swayed  by  passion  and  popular  appeals,  instead  of  being  governed 
by  reason  and  reflection.  A  government  of  this  form,  when  urged 
on  by  excitement,  plays  the  tyrant  without  restraint  or  remedy. 

In  our  own  country,  we  set  the  first  example  of  written  con 
stitutions,  conferring  upon  the  majority,  with  certain  limitations, 
full  power  to  govern,  through  representatives  chosen  by  the 
people.  Although  not  free  from  defects,  this  is  the  best  form  of 
government  yet  devised  by  man.  Ample  time  is  allowed  the 
1 


2  DEMOCRACY   IN  THE   UNITED   STATES. 

elector  in  selecting  his  agents.  These  are  accountable  to  him  for 
the  manner  of  performing  their  duties.  These  agents  have  the 
full  benefit  of  ample  discussion  before  they  act.  Responsibility 
is  brought  home  to  them.  "  Broad  errors  will  defeat  their  pros 
pects  of  future  service,  or  hope  of  promotion.  Both  the  people 
and  their  representatives  act  with  more  deliberation  than  large 
masses  of  meu,  who  neither  owe  nor  feel  responsibility  to  any  one 
for  any  thing  their  interests  or  passions  may  induce  them  to  do. 

Under  our  written  constitutions  both  the  people  and  their 
agents  are  restrained  in  the  exercise  of  their  powers  to  such  mat 
ters  as  they  can  act  upon  intelligently  and  successfully  for  the 
public  good.  Under  the  State  governments  the  legislative  power 
is  so  distributed  as  to  prevent  combinations,  or  excited  or  local 
action.  The  most  numerous  branch  is  selected  from  a  limited 
territory  and  for  a  short  period,  and  the  least  numerous  from  a 
larger  one  and  for  a  longer  term.  The  Chief  Magistrate,  who  is 
armed  with  a  veto,  is  selected  from  the  whole  State.  Local  feel 
ings,  short-lived  excitements,  and  combinations  can  seldom  extend 
to  all.  The  action  of  each  is  a  check  upon  the  other,  and  tends 
to  secure  the  thoughtful  and  wise  action  of  all. 

The  national  Government  is  clothed  with  large  powers,  carved 
out  of  those  once  belonging  to  each  State.  These  have  been  sur 
rendered  for  the  common  good  of  all.  One  branch  of  its  Legis 
lature  is  elected  by  the  people  every  two  years,  from  a  limited 
territory,  by  nearly  universal  suffrage.  The  other  branch  is 
elected  by  the  States,  and  not  by  the  people,-  for  a  term  of  six 
years.  This  branch  has  the  same  functions  with  one  exception  as 
the  more  numerous  branch,  and  exercises  an  advisory  limitation 
upon  the  treaty-making  and  appointing  powers  of  the  Executive. 
The  President  is  clothed  with  a  limited  veto-power,  which  strongly 
tenda  to  prevent  hasty  and  ill-advised  action  of  the  two  Houses. 
Under  both  State  and  national  Governments  a  judicial  depart 
ment  is  established,  before  which  all  questions  of  legal  right  and 
constitutional  power  can  be  deliberately  contested.  Where  the 
law-making  power  has  exceeded  the  boundaries  of  its  authority,  it 
declares  its  enactments  null  and  void.  Under  both  constitutions 
the  powers  of  the  Chief  Executive,  all  subordinate  officials  down 


PARTY   NAMES.  3 

to  a  country  magistrate,  are  carefully  hedged  about,  with  the  view 
of  securing  to  the  citizen  every  right  to  which  he  is  entitled. 
As  defects  are  discovered,  new  remedies  are  devised  and  applied 
to  secure  the  independence  of  man.  If,  with  all  these  precau- 
tkns,  wrong  creeps  in,  it  is  more  likely  to  be  the  fault  of  the 
agent  than  of  the  system.  We  cannot  expect  perfection  in  either, 
while  we  reflect  that  all  heavenly  bodies  vary  more  or  less  from 
their  regular  orbit,  producing  an  occasional  partial  or  total 
eclipse. 

2.— PARTY  NAMES. 

Party  names  seldom  indicate  the  real  principles  of  a  party. 
They  are  generally  conferred  by  their  adversaries,  and  not  unfre- 
quently  in  derision  and  to  excite  prejudice.  Whig,  Tory,  and 
Roundhead,  are  terms  not  indicating  political  principles.  They 
originally  meant  horsemen,  robbers,  and  men  with  short-cropped 
hrir.  In  this  country  each  State  has  had  its  local  party  names, 
wjile  the  national  Government  has  had  several,  mostly  unmeaning 
terms  arbitrarily  applied.  Originally  "Federalist"  meant  one 
who  favored  the  adoption  of  the  Federal  Constitution,  but  was 
subsequently  applied  to  those  who  sought  by  stretching  and  con 
struction  to  make  it  extend  beyond  what  its  framers  intended  it 
should  embrace,  and  afterward  to  those  who  opposed  the  War 
of  1812.  They  became  the  successors  of  the  Tories.  A  Repub 
lican  was  one  who  favored  a  republican  form  of  government, 
where  the  will  of  the  people  controlled,  in  contradistinction  to 
one  where  there  was  a  mixture  of  aristocrac}T,  as  in  Switzerland. 
It  included  those  opposed  to  federalism,  and  continued  until  the 
administration  of  Mr.  Monroe,  when  many  of  the  leaders  of  the 
Federal  party  announced  that  they  "  had  no  longer  any  ground 
of  principle  to  stand  upon,"  and  disbanded  it.  When  the  "  Na 
tional  Republican  "  party  was  formed  during  the  administration 
of  the  second  Adams,  it  put  forth  no  formal  political  platform. 
sThe  Republicans  then  assumed  the  name  "Democratic  party," 
j which  appellation  the  party  still  bears.  The  term  indicates  cer- 
Itain  well-settled  principles  broadly  known  to  mankind,  and  exer- 
;cising  an  influence  more  or  less  extensive  throughout  the  civilized 


4  DEMOCRACY   IN   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

world,  and  are  ever  found  where  self-government  has  a  perma 
nent  foothold.  They  have  grown  with  liberty,  and  been  adopted 
one  by  one  after  a  severe  contest,  as  standard  maxims  by  the  en 
lightened  portion  of  the  human  family.  The  adversaries  of  those 
principles  included  all  other  political  as  well  as  many  professed 
moral  and  religious  associations  by  whatever  name  designated — 
Spiritualists,  Socialists,  Free-Lovers,  Perfectionists,  and  all  other 
"isms"  are  at  heart  anti-democratic,  and  really  Republicans, 
adopting  and  practising  their  distinguishing  characteristics.  All 
these  adversaries  of  the  Democracy  prefer  controverting  democratic 
principles  by  indirection,  to  manfully  denying  their  truth  and 
importance  in  governing  the  world,  attempting  to  prove  that  their 
beneficial  consequences  have  been  overestimated.  We  shall  define 
and  illustrate  these  principles  and  those  of  an  opposite  char 
acter  under  a  separate  head. 

3.— DEMOCRATIC  PRINCIPLES  CONTRASTED  WITH  OTHERS. 
Democratic  principles  are  a  body  of  tested  and  recognized 
laws  for  organizing  and  conducting  human  governments.  Under 
these,  the  people  constitute  the  controlling  power,  and  act  by 
public  agents.  These  laws  secure  to  mankind  liberty— the  pro 
tection  of  the  person,  character,  and  property,  leaving  them  to 
pursue  happiness  in  their  own  way,  when  they  commit  no  act 
criminal  in  itself.  The  people,  and  their  public  agents  under 
them,  are  equally -controlled  and  restrained  by  an  organic  law, 
having  these  objects  primarily  in  view.  Originally  in  Europe, 
physical  strength,  and  personal  bravery,  and  combinations  con 
trolled  and  governed.  Subsequently  this  right  was  yielded  to 
certain  individuals,  or  families,  whose  will  constituted  the  law. 
On  various  occasions  combinations  were  formed  and  concessions 
made  in  favor  of  liberty  and  democratic  principles,  extorted  from 
the  reigning  potentate  for  the  benefit  of  mankind.  The  Magna 
Cliarta,  extorted  from  King  John,  may  be  cited  as  an  instance. 
The  principles  of  liberty  and  personal  independence,  prevailing  in 
England,  were  planted  in  America  by  those  emigrating  to  this 
country  before  the  Revolution.  They  were  largely  incorporated 
in  the  first  written  constitution  ever  prepared  by  human  hands— 


DEMOCRATIC   PRINCIPLES    CONTRASTED    WITH    OTHERS.        5 

that  presented  by  Dr.  Franklin  in  1754  to  the  General  Congress 
assembled  at  Albany,  which,  though  there  adopted,  was  rejected 
by  the  English  Board  of  Trade.  They  have  since  been  adopted 
in  the  national  Constitution,  and  in  that  of  every  State.  They 
consist  of  the 'enabling  and  restraining  clauses,  found  in  each, 
designed  to  control  the  people  and  their  public  agents.  In 
each,  power  is  sparingly  measured  out.  In  forming  the  national 
Constitution,  the  contest  was  between  the  British  form  of  gov 
ernment,  on  the  one  side,  with  modifications  more  in  name 
than  in  substance,  and  on  the  other,  where  democratic  princi 
ples  were  allowed  a  controlling  sway.  On  the  question  of  its 
adoption,  it  was  only  carried  on  the  strength  of  pledges  of  the 
speedy  adoption  of  certain  specified  amendments,  mainly  calcu 
lated  to  restrain  the  national  Government,  and  to  secure  personal 
liberty  and,  independence.  These  amendments  were  recommend 
ed  by  New  York,  Virginia,  and  Massachusetts.  They,  and 
those  of  a  similar  character,  incorporated  into  the  State  constitu 
tions,  form  the  main  bulwarks  of  our  liberty.  Among  these  we 
may  enumerate  freedom  of  religion,  of  speech,  and  assembling  to 
petition  for  redress  of  grievances ;  to  keep  and  bear  arms ;  to  be 
exempt  from  having  soldiers  quartered  upon  people  in  time  of 
p^ace ;  to  be  secure  in  persons,  houses,  papers,  and  effects  against 
unreasonable  searches  and  seizures,  and  the  issuing  warrants  with 
out  probable  cause,  supported  by  oath,  describing  the  particular 
place  to  be  searched,  and  the  persons  and  things  to  be  seized ; 
prohibiting  holding  a  person  to  answer  for  crime  except  on  pre 
sentment  of  a  grand  jury ;  prohibiting  the  putting  in  jeopardy  of 
life  or  limb  twice  for  the  same  offence  ;  prohibiting  a  person  from 
being  compelled  to  testify  against  himself,  and  depriving  him  of 
life,  liberty,  or  property  without  due  process  of  law,  or  the  taking 
private  property  for  public  use  without  due  compensation  ;  secur 
ing  a  person  in  criminal  prosecutions  a  speedy  and  public  trial, 
by  an  impartial  jury,  in  the  district  where  the  crime  was  com 
mitted,  and  to  be  informed  of  the  nature  and  cause  of  the  accusa 
tion,  and  to  have  compulsory  process  for  obtaining  witnesses,  and 
the  assistance  of  counsel;  the  preservation  of  the  right  of  trial  by 
jury  in  common  law  cases ;  prohibition  against  excessive  bail  and 


6  DEMOCEACT  IN  THE   UNITED   STATES. 

excessive  fines,  and  cruel  and  unusual  punishments ;  that  the 
enumeration  of  certain  rights  should  not  be  construed  to  deny  or 
disparage  others  retained  by  the  people  ;  and  declaring  that  all 
powers  not  delegated  to  the  United  States  by  the  Constitution, 
nor  prohibited  by  it  to  the  States,  are  reserved  to  the  States  re 
spectively  or  to  the  people. 

Each  of  these  provisions  has  been  the  subject  of  contest,  either 
in  Great  Britain  or  between  her  and  her  American  colonies,  and 
nearly  every  one  has  been  either  condemned  or  openly  avoided 
or  violated  by  the  adversaries  of  the  Democracy.  Laws  higher 
than  the  Constitution  have  been  proclaimed  as  the  rightful  rule  of 
action,  and  necessity  put  forth  as  a  source  of  superior  power. 
These  are  some  of  the  means  to  which  the  enemies  of  democratic 
principles  resort,  to  avoid  conforming  to  the  requirements  of  the 
Constitution.  The  leading  features  of  the  anti-democratic  as 
sumptions  are  these :  The  public  agents  elected  by  the  people  are 
believed  to  be  wiser  than  the  people  themselves,  and  more  com 
petent  to  determine  upon  what  principles  laws  ought  to  be  made 
and  public  business  transacted  ;  that  it  is  the  duty  of  such  agents 
so  to  act  as  to  compel  business  to  flow  in  certain  channels,  and 
thus  to  make  people  prosperous  and  happy  in  spite  of  themselves ; 
that  it  is  a  further  duty  so  to  manage  public  affairs  as  to  secure 
their  political  ascendency  for  all  time  to  come,  so  as  to  be  con 
tinued  in  their  agencies,  directing  the  people  how  to  make  them 
selves  happy.  The  real  theory  is  to  compel  obedience,  and  not 
to  permit  personal  freedom.  The  leading  acts  of  this  antagonistic 
party  inviolably  tend  to  this  conclusion.  In  the  following  pages 
we  intend  to  illustrate  these  views,  and  demonstrate  their  truth. 
We  shall  endeavor  to  show  that  anti-democrats,  in  carrying  out 
their  principles,  have  frequently 'involved  the  country  in  embar 
rassment  and  distress.  The  country  has  only  been  relieved 
through  the  application  of  the  healthful,  invigorating,  and  benign 
principles  of  democracy.  This  has  ever  been  and  ever  will  be. 

In  this  connection  we  are  permitted  to  quote  from  the  forth 
coming  "History  of  Democracy  of  the  United  States"  the  fol 
lowing  paragraph : 

"  The  DEMOCRATIC  PARTY  represents  the  great  principles  of 


DEMOCRATIC   PRINCIPLES    CONTRASTED   WITH    OTHERS.        7 

progress.  It  is  onward  and  outward  in  its  movements.  It  has  a 
heart  for  action  and  motives  for  a  world.  It  constitutes  the 
principle  of  diffusion,  and  is  to  humanity  what  the  centrifugal 
force  is  to  the  revolving  orbs  of  the  universe.  What  motion  is  to 
them,  democracy  is  to  principle.  It  is  the  soul  of  action.  It 
conforms  to  the  providence  of  God.  It  has  confidence  in  man 
and  an  abiding  reliance  in  his  high  destiny.  It  seeks  the  largest 
liberty,  the  greatest  good,  and  the  surest  happiness.  It  aims  to 
build  up  the  great  interests  of  the  many,  to  the  least  detriment  of 
the  few.  It  remembers  the  past,  without  neglecting  the  present. 
It  establishes  the  present  without  fearing  to  provide  for  the  future. 
It  cares  for  the  weak,  while  it  permits  no  injustice  to  the  strong.  It 
conquers  the  oppressor,  and  prepares  the  subjects  of  tyranny  for 
freedom.  It  melts  the  bigot's  heart  to  meekness,  and  reconciles 
his  mind  to  knowledge.  It  dispels  the  clouds  of  ignorance  and 
superstition,  and  prepares  the  people  for  instruction  and  self-re 
spect.  It  adds  wisdom  to  legislation,  and  improved  judgment  to 
government.  It  favors  enterprise  that  yields  a  reward  to  the 
many,  and  an  industry  that  is  permanent.  It  is  the  pioneer  of 
humanity — the  conservator  of  nations.  It  fails  only  ivlien  it  ceases 
to  be  true  to  itself.  Vox  populi  vox  Dei  has  proved  to  be  both 
a  proverb  and  a  prediction."* 

*  Tliis  work  was  commenced  by  Nahum  Capen,  in  1850.  He  was  induced 
to  undertake  it  by  some  of  the  most  distinguished  men  of  the  country,  such  as 
ex-President  Polk,  ex-President  Buchanan,  Governor  Marcy,  Governor  Sey 
mour,  Vice-President  Dallas,  Governor  Cass,  and  others.  It  was  said  by  Dr. 
Sparks  that  it  was  a  work  of  more  labor  than  any  similar  work  ever  attempt 
ed  in  this  country.  The  author  has  been  much  interrupted  in  his  labors,  but 
he  designs  to  publish  the  first  volume  during  the  year.  A  leading  editor  thus 
alludes  to  the  work,  and  we  cheerfully  concur  in  the  opinions  expressed : 

"  Circumstances  beyond  the  author's  control  have  hitherto  retarded  the 
completion  of  this  great  work,  upon  which  he  has  spent  ten  years  of  laborious 
and  patient  toil.  Mr.  Capen's  abilities  rank  him  with  the  master-minds  of 
the  nation,  and  his  name  is  a  guarantee  of  the  excellence  of  the  work.  It 
is  a  work  not  only  much  needed,  but  also  absolutely  indispensable ;  and  we 
are  truly  gratified  to  learn  that  he  proposes  at  an  early  date  to  publish  the 
first  volume.  Every  Democratic  and  Conservative  citizen  should  have  a 
copy — it  is  indispensable,  both  as  a  vade  mecum  of  political  statistics  and  a 
profoundly  philosophical  treatise.  We  await  with  anxious  anticipation  the 
promised  completion." 


8  DEMOCRACY   IN   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

4.— WASHINGTON'S  ADMINISTRATION. 

The  conflicting  principles  of  the  Democracy  and  anti-Democ 
racy  were  soon  sowed  broad-cast  in  the  convention  which  framed 
our  Federal  Constitution.  They  took  deep  root  during  Washing 
ton's  administration,  but,  owing  to  his  wisdom,  firmness,  and  vigi 
lance,  produced  little  fruit  of  an  objectionable  character,  beyond 
the  adoption  of  an  unconstitutional  bank  charter,  against  the 
opinion  of  Mr.  Jefferson  and  Mr.  Randolph,  both  in  the  cabinet. 
At  heart  Washington  was  a  democrat,  although  somewhat  aristo 
cratic  in  his  deportment.  After  Jefferson  left  his  cabinet  he 
was  surrounded  by  those  who  were  guided  by  the  opponents  of 
democracy,  and  Avas  often  embarrassed  by  their  tactics  and  by 
the  abuse  of  his  confidence.  But  the  purity  of  his  motives  and 
the  liberality  and  patriotism  of  his  sentiments  were  never  ques 
tioned  by  the  Democracy.  In  whatever  related  to  his  own  de 
partment  he  always  followed  Mr.  Jefferson's  advice.  He  con 
sented  to  the  retirement  of  Jefferson  with  great  reluctance. 
Although  the  relations  existing  between  these  great  men  were 
grossly  misrepresented  by  partisans,  it  is  a  fact  worthy  of  notice 
that  the  best  outline  of  the  character  of  Washington  was  written 
by  Jefferson. 

5.— JOHN  ADAMS'S  ADMINISTRATION. 

Mr.  Adams  was  a  patriot,  and  in  early  life  strongly  imbued 
with  democratic  principles.  Residence  abroad  infused  some  con 
flicting  views,  and  awakened  a  large  respect  for  the  British  Gov 
ernment  and  its  forms,  ceremonies,  and  splendor.  As  successor 
of  Washington,  too  much  may  have  been  expected  from  him. 
Unfortunately  for  him,  he  surrounded  himself  with  a  cabinet  con 
trolled  by  his  enemy,  Hamilton,  who  devoted  themselves  to  his 
schemes,  and  to  the  downfall  of  the  man  they  professed  to  serve. 
Things  went  wrong,  and  Mr.  Adams's  violence  of  temper  made 
them  go  worse.  The  aliens  who  sought  an  asylum  among  us, 
having  fled  from  European  oppression,  were  naturally  democrats. 
It  was  found  that  their  numbers  and  influence  would  multiply 
the  chances  of  his  defeat.  Hence,  he  consented  to  be  clothed 
with  the  fatal  power  of  expelling  them  from  the  country  at  his 


9 

unregulated  will  and  pleasure.  This  law  was  anti-democratic  in 
principle,  not  allowing  aliens  to  seek  happiness  in  our  free  land, 
and  was  an  act  of  tyranny. 

It  naturally  arrayed  all  who  had  been  born  abroad  against 
•rim,  and  in  favor  of  the  Democratic  side.  Those  who  had 
spoken  freely  against  British  rule  were  not  likely  to  be  choice  in 
their  language  toward  a  President  who  had  set  up  some  show, 
without  having  any  marked  executive  ability,  and  who  had  drawn 
around  him  and  been  guided  by  the  undisguised  enemies  of  the 
Democracy.  It  was  natural  that  the  change,  from  the  adulation 
bestowed  upon  Washington  to  the  censures  he  received,  should 
disturb  his  excitable  and  explosive  temper  beyond  control. 
To  restrain  these  censures,  he  and  his  friends  deemed  it  wise  to 
pass  the  memorable  Sedition  Law  to  prevent  people  speaking  dis 
respectfully  of  the  Government  and  its  officers,  and  to  crush  out 
those  guilty  of  doing  so.  Such  a  law,  aside  from  its  being  un 
constitutional,  naturally  increased  and  multiplied  the  expressions 
of  disparagement  wyhich  it  was  designed  to  repress  by  conviction 
and  punishment.  Its  execution  was  intrusted  to  agents  more 
noted  for  political  venom  than  for  wisdom  or  discretion.  It  is 
painful  to  know  that  judges  were  found  willing  to  become  instru 
ments  to  execute  and  enforce  such  an  unauthorized  enactment.  A 
few  cases  arising  under  this  act  are  given,  to  illustrate  its  baneful 
character,  and  to  show  where  anti-democratic  principles  lead 
men,  otherwise,  perhaps,  good  citizens: 

Matthew  Lyon,  an  Irishman  by  birth,  and  a  member  of  Con 
gress  from  Vermont,  said  of  the  President,  in  a  letter  published 
in  a  newspaper,  that  "  every  consideration  of  the  public  welfare 
was  swallowed  up  in  a  continual  grasp  for  power,  an  unbounded 
thirst  for  ridiculous  pomp,  foolish  adulation,  and  selfish  avarice  " — 
"that  the  sacred  name  of  religion"  had  been  used  as  "a  state 
engine  to  make  mankind  hate  and  persecute  each  other."  For 
this  he  was  indicted,  tried  before  Judge  Patterson  of  the  U.  S. 
Supreme  Court,  convicted,  and  sentenced  to  four  months'  im 
prisonment,  and  to  pay  a  fine  of  $1,000.  An  attempt  to  raise 
money  to  pay  this  fine,  through  a  lottery  of  Lyon's  property,  was 
made.  In  the  published  notice,  in  the  Vermont  Gazette,  of  this 


10  DEMOCRACY   IN   THE   UOTTED   STATES. 

lottery,  expressions  deemed  disrespectful  were  found,  and  the 
editor  was  indicted,  convicted  under  the  same  law,  and  sentenced 
to  pay  a  fine  of  $200,  and  be  imprisoned  two  months. 

Charles  Holt,  publisher  of  the  Bee  at  New  London,  was  found 
guilty  of  defaming  the  President  and  discouraging  enlistments, 
and  sentenced  to  three  months'  imprisonment,  and  to  pay  a  fine 
of  $200. 

James  T.  Calender  was  indicted  for  a  libel  on  the  President. 
The  indictment  was  mainly  procured  by  Judge  Chase  of  the  U.  S. 
Supreme  Court,  before  whom  he  was  tried.  Chase  refused  to 
hear  counsel  on  the  question  of  the  constitutionality  of  the  law. 
For  this  and  for  violence  on  the  Bench  he  was  impeached. 
Calender  was  convicted,  and  sentenced  to  nine  months'  imprison 
ment,  and  to  pay  a  fine  of  $200. 

Baldwin,  of  New  Jersey,  was  convicted  and  fined  $100  for 
wishing  "that  the  wadding  of  a  cannon,  firing  a  salute  for  the 
President,  had  lodged  in  his  backsides."  This  is  the  language  in 
the  indictment. 

Jared  Peck,  a  State  senator  from  Otsego,  New  York,  and 
originator  of  the  common-school  system  of  that  State,  was  ar 
rested,  carried  to  New  York,  and  indicted,  for  having  circulated, 
for  signatures,  a  spirited  petition  in  favor  of  the  repeal  of  the  Alien 
and  Sedition  Laws.  But  the  trial  was  probably  abandoned. 

Thomas  Cooper,  since  one  of  our  most  learned  and  distinguished 
men,  was  tried  for  charging  the  President  with  unbecoming  and 
unnecessary  violence  in  his  official  communications,  calculated,  it 
was  asserted,  to  justly  provoke  war,  and  bring  upon  the  nation, 
in  time  of  peace,  the  expense  of  a  permanent  navy  and  threaten 
ing  it  with  that  of  an  army,  and  for  interfering  in  the  case  of 
Jonathan  Bobbins,  a  native  impressed  citizen  of  the  United  States, 
to  deliver  him  over  to  a  British  court-martial  for  trial,  "  an  inter 
ference,"  Cooper  alleged,  "without  precedent,  against  law  and 
mercy,"  an  act  "which  the  monarch  of  Great  Britain  would  have 
shrunk  from."  Of  this  he  was  found  guilty,  and  Judge  Chase 
sentenced  him  to  six  months'  imprisonment,  and  to  pay  a  fine  of 
$400. 

These  are  some  of  the  fruits  of  the  Alien  aiid  Sedition  Laws, 


ANTI-DEHOGEATIC   NATURALIZATION   LAWS.  11 

calculated  to  deter  foreigners  from  coming  among  us  to  reside,  to 
aid  in  expanding  our  industry,  and  increase  the  arts  among  us,  as 
well  as  to  repress  and  prevent  the  freedom  of  such,  in  violation  of 
the  first  amendment  of  the  Constitution.  All  this  was  done  for 
the  purpose  of  continuing  the  anti-Democratic  party  in  power. 
These  were  the  natural  fruits  of  anti-democratic  principles,  and 
were  fast  diminishing  our  prosperity  and  happiness,  and  lowering 
us  in  the  estimation  of  mankind.  The  country  was  rescued  from 
its  fatal  position  by  the  uprising  of  the  Democracy,  and  the  adop 
tion  and  diffusion  of  their  benevolent  principles,  as  we  shall  pro 
ceed  to  show. 

Subsequent  generations,  through  Congress,  have  refunded  the 
fines  of  Lyon  and  Cooper,  with  interest,  thus  passing  a  solemn 
judgment  upon  the  authors,  upholders,  and  executors  of  that  great 
political  engine,  the  Sedition  Law,  July  14, 1798.  The  Alien  and 
Sedition  Laws,  designed  to  crush  the  Democracy,  and  to  prolong 
the  ascendency  of  anti-democratic  principles,  had  precisely  the 
opposite  effect.  They  crushed  their  authors,  and  were  among  the 
stepping-stones  upon  which  the  Democracy  arose  to  power — there 
to  remain  for  more  than  a  generation  in  control  of  the  Govern 
ment. 

6.— ANTI-DEMOCRATIC  NATURALIZATION  LAWS. 

By  the  first  law,  passed  in  1792,  it  was  liberally  provided  that 
aliens  who  had  been  resident  here  two  years,  having  good  charac 
ters,  might  be  naturalized.  In  1795,  the  law  was  somewhat 
complicated,  and  extended  to  five  years.  Soon  after  this,  political 
difficulties  in  Europe  occasioned  a  large  increase  of  emigration  to 
this  country.  In  Ireland  the  fires  of  rebellion  were  only  kept 
smothered,  and  the  British  Government  was  the  object  of  extensive 
hate  and  detestation.  In  France,  the  Reign  of  Terror  and  a  fierce 
revolution  were  spilling  some  of  the  best  blood  of  the  nation. 
Italy,  and  some  parts  of  Germany,  and  other  states  in  Europe, 
were  surging  with  political  excitement.  It  was  natural  from  all 
such  places  that  men  should  leave  the  land  of  their  birth,  and  seek 
liberty  and  personal  freedom  where  the  Constitution,  following 
the  sword,  had  declared  ours  to  be  the  asylum  of  the  oppressed 


12  DEMOCRACY  IN   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

of  every  nation.  Emigrants,  coming  under  such  circumstances, 
naturally  espoused  democratic  principles.  Their  number  and 
open  political  professions  alarmed  the  anti-Democrats,  and  hence 
a  change  in  the  naturalization  laws,  so  as  to  render  it  impossible 
for  them  to  become  voters  for  many  years.  On  the  18th  of  June, 
1798,  a  new  naturalization  law  was  passed,  requiring  a  residence 
of  fourteen  years  before  an  alien  could  be  naturalized.  This  was 
followed,  in  seven  days.,  by  the  act  authorizing  the  President  to 
drive  out  all  such  aliens  as  he  should  select  for  that  purpose.  In 
1792,  the  wisdom  of  those  who  framed  the  Constitution  fixed  the 
period  of  residence  at  two  years,  and  six  years  thereafter  the  fears 
and  policy  of  the  anti-Democrats  extended  it  to  fourteen  years. 
Instead  of  providing  an  asylum  where  aliens  could  live  in  safety 
and  enjoy  liberal  principles,  they  were  denied  the  privilege  of  be 
coming  citizens,  and  holding  lands  as  such,  for  a  long  period  of 
years.  The  President  was  clothed  with  power  to  drive  them 
away,  and  perhaps  subject  them  to  punishment  in  a  land  of  tyranny, 
for  merely  entertaining  liberal  political  opinions.  The  Legislature 
of  Massachusetts  in  1798  proposed  to  amend  the  Constitution  of 
the  United  States,  increasing  the  disabilities  of  aliens.  Her  prop 
osition  was  rejected  by  the  JSTew  York  Legislature,  and  failed  of 
affirmative  action  in  any  State.  Soon  after  Jefferson  came  into 
power,  this  cruel  fourteen-years  exaction  was  repealed,  and  the 
five-year  law  of  1795  restored.  Now,  the  immigrant  who  seeks  an 
asylum  and  liberty  among  us,  not  only  finds  it,  but  is  permitted 
to  become  one  of  us,  if  his  character  proves  good,  and  to  enjoy  all 
the  rights  of  an  American  citizen.  It  is  thus  seen  that,  while 
anti-democratic  principles  are  hostile  to  those  born  abroad,  those 
of  the  Democratic  party  cherish  and  foster  them,  and  furnish  them 
with  reasonable  facilities  for  enjoying  all  the  privileges  of  the 
native-born,  to  the  end  that  they  may  pursue  their  industries,  and, 
as  far  as  they  have  the  capacity,  to  work  out  their  own  happi 
ness  in  their  own  way.  Having  these  things  in  view,  it  cannot 
seem  strange  to  the  intelligent  mind,  that  nearly  all  alien-born 
espouse  democratic  principles  and  act  with  the  Democratic  party. 


THE  POLITICAL   DEVOLUTION   OF    1800.  13 


7.— THE  POLITICAL  REVOLUTION  OF  1800. 

The  action  of  the  anti-Democratic  or  Federal  party,  from 
1798  to  the  end  of  Mr.  Adams's  administration,  alarmed  the  peo 
ple  and  aroused  the  Democracy  to  almost  superhuman  action. 
They  believed  that  not  only  the  welfare,  but  the  continuance  of 
our  representative  democratic  institutions  mainly  depended  upon 
a  sounder  reading  and  construction  of  the  Constitution,  a  closer 
observance  of  its  commands,  and  a  wiser  and  safer  administration 
of  our  public  affairs.  To  those  who  had  suffered,  or  calmly  and 
fully  appreciated  the  aggravated  acts  out  of  which  the  limitations 
in  the  Constitution  and  its  amendments  had  sprung,  a  civil  revolu 
tion  presented  the  only  hopes  of  permanent  improvement.  Those 
who  were  influenced  with  the  fear  of  banishment  for  mere  political 
offence,  were  ready  to  devote  every  energy  to  be  relieved  from 
the  rule  of  the  authors  of  the  Alien  Law.  Those  who  gloried  in 
free  speech  were  ready  to  make  any  sacrifice  to  be  beyond  the 
power  of  those  who  sought  to  restrain  it.  Calm,  reflecting  men 
joined  both  classes,  and  sought  to  vindicate  the  Constitution  from 
the  charge  of  permitting  these  aggressions  upon  personal  liberty 
and  independence.  The  revolution  became  complete,  and  free 
speech,  a  free  press  and  personal  independence  were  once  more 
recognized  and  respected  throughout  the  Union.  The  principles 
thus  approved  triumphed  for  full  sixty  years,  until  "  higher  laws  " 
and  "  necessity  "  claimed  to  confer  powers  not  authorized  by  the 
Constitution.  "Without  even  the  form  of  law,  men  have  been 
arrested  and  imprisoned,  and  held  without  trial,  for  criticising  the 
acts  of  those  in  power,  and  refused  the  benefit  of  the  writ  of 
habeas  corpus,  though  not  suspended  by  Congress,  or  any  lawful 
authority,  as  we  shall  hereafter  state. 

The  political  revolution  of  1800  brought  Thomas  Jefferson 
into  power.  The  man,  his  principles  and  administration  we  shall 
hereafter  describe.  It  is  due  to  the  memory  of  Mr.  Adams  to 
say,  that  before  his  death  he  renewed  his  friendship  with  Jeffer 
son,  and  became  one  of  his  greatest  admirers.  It  may  be  stated 
in  this  connection  that  in  1820  he  was  chosen  one  of  the  electors 
of  President,  and  voted  for  James  Monroe  for  President,  and 


14  DEMOCRACY   IN   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

Daniel  D.  Tompldns  for  Vice-President,  showing  that  he  was  a 
Democrat  in  his  old  age. 

8.— ATTEMPT  TO  DEPRIVE  MR.  JEFFERSON  OF  HIS  ELECTION. 

By  the  Constitution,  as  it  stood  in  1800,  the  candidate  who 
had  the  largest  number  of  electoral  votes  became  President,  and 
the  one  having  the  next  largest,  Vice-President ;  and  if  there  was 
a  tie,  one  of  them  was  elected  President  by  the  House  of  Repre 
sentatives.  The  Democrats  nominated  Jefferson  for  President, 
and  Burr  for  Vice-President,  and  supported  them  for  those  offices, 
and  gave  each  seventy-three  votes.  The  Federalists  nominated 
John  Adams  for  reelection  as  President,  and  Pinckney,  of  South 
Carolina,  for  Vice-President,  the  former  receiving  sixty-five  and 
the  latter  sixty-four  votes.  Messrs.  Jefferson  and  Burr  having  an 
equal  number  of  votes,  the  House  had  to  select  between  them. 
The  will  of  the  majority  was  that  Mr.  Jefferson  should  be  Presi 
dent,  and  Burr  Vice-President.  Not  a  human  being  doubted  or 
disputed  this  intention.  A  wish,  to  allow  the  majority  to  govern 
and  to  permit  them  to  enjoy  their  wishes  in  this  respect,  and  have 
such  public  agents  to  attend  to  their  affairs  as  they  chose  to  select, 
would  have  led  to  the  immediate  selection  of  Mr.  Jefferson  as 
President,  and  Burr  as  Vice-President.  As  the  House  voted  by 
States,  it  was  found  that  eight  States  were  Democratic,  six  Federal, 
and  two  divided,  so  as  to  prevent  Mr.  Jefferson  receiving  a  ma 
jority.  To  the  astonishment  of  all,  the  Federal  members  under 
took  to  defeat  Mr.  Jefferson,  and  to  elect  Burr  President.  Thirty- 
five  ineffectual  ballots  were  taken,  with  the  same  result.  The 
whole  country  became  aroused,  and  Burr  was  alarmed  for  his 
own  personal  safety,  when  he  communicated  to  the  House,  through 
a  friend,  that  he  declined  all  competition  with  Mr.  Jefferson, 
whereupon  two  Federal  members  withdrew,  leaving  the  Demo 
cratic  members  from  their  States  to  cast  their  votes  for  Mr.  Jeffer 
son,  giving  him  ten  votes,  whereupon  he  was  declared  duly  elected. 
Burr  and  his  friends  manoeuvred  for  votes  to  elect  him  against  the 
wishes  of  the  electors.  It  was  not  until  he  saw  he  could  not  suc 
ceed,  that  he  yielded  and  receded  from  his  position,  thereby 
releasing  the  Federal  members  from  further  obligation  to  support 


THOMAS   JEFFEESON.  15 

him.  This  course  of  Burr  damned  liim  to  everlasting  infamy,  and 
forever  disgraced  the  Federal  leaders  who  were  engaged  in  this 
effort  to  defeat  the  will  of  the  electors.  Its  effect  upon  the  people 
was  to  arouse  them  to  a  full  consideration  of  the  danger  in  which 
the  country  had  been  placed,  and  awakened  a  sense  of  justice 
a  ad  admiration  for  Mr.  Jefferson,  which  was  manifested  at  the 
next  Presidential  election  by  giving  him  one  hundred  and  sixty- 
two  votes,  and  the  Federal  candidate  only  fourteen.  Burr  was 
cropped  out  of  sight,  and  George  Clinton  was  made  Vice-Presi 
dent  at  the  next  Presidential  election. 

9.— THOMAS  JEFFERSON. 

No  name  is  more  highly  venerated  than  that  of  Mr.  Jefferson. 
He  did  not  invent  democratic  principles.  Principles  are  eternal 
in  their  nature.  All  that  man  can  do  is  to  discover  and  apply 
them.  Jefferson  but  embodied  them  permanently,  and  became 
the  honored  representative  of  them.  He  was  the  very  persona 
tion  of  that  benevolence  and  patriotism  upon  which  they  are 
founded. 

He  was  educated  at  William  and  Mary  College  in  Virginia, 
arid  studied  law  under  Chancellor  Wythe.  Although  a  sound 
lawyer,  a  skilful  strategist,  and  wise  counsellor,  a  defect  in  his  ut 
terance  interfered  with  his  success  as  an  advocate.  He  preferred 
using  his  pen,  and  his  countrymen  were  not  slow  to  give  oppor 
tunities.  This  was  fortunate.  His,  far  more  than  any  other  pen, 
guided  and  controlled  our  destiny.  Both  in  the  legislature  and  in 
popular  assemblies  he  was  called  upon  to  write  the  reasons  for 
their  action.  Although  firm  in  his  views,  there  was  neither  gall 
nor  wormwood  in  his  composition.  He  loved  and  cherished  man 
kind,  while  he  loathed  and  abhorred  their  faults,  and  detested  their 
violences  and  injustice.  His  natural  feelings  were  manifested 
when  he  had  engraved  on  a  seal,  "  Resistance  to  tyrants  is  obe 
dience  to  God."  He  was  as  mild  and  gentle  as  a  child  enjoying 
sunshine.  His  neighbors,  from  the  oldest  to  the  youngest,  loved, 
revered,  and  confided  in  him.  He  was  the  idol  of  his  household, 
and  his  slaves  were  proud  of  him  as  a  master.  No  one  ever  heard 
him  speak  ill  of  others  personally,  even  against  those  who  had 


16  DEMOCEACY   IN   THE    UNITED   STATES. 

wronged  him.  An  unkind  word  was  never  spoken  by  him  in  his 
family.  His  wishes  were  the  law,  and  observed  from  love  instead 
of  fear.  His  temper  was  never  known  to  be  ruffled  but  once,  and 
then  for  a  moment,  when  breaking  a  horse.  He  censured  himself 
for  it  as  an  act  of  folly. 

Mr.  Jefferson  was  married  in  his  twenty-ninth  year,  to  Mrs. 
Martha  Welton,  daughter  of  John  Wayles,  of  Virginia.  She  is 
described  as  one  of  the  most  beautiful  and  amiable  of  women. 
By  her  he  had  six  children — one  son  and  five  daughters,  all  ex 
cept  two  of  the  latter  dying  in  their  infancy.  Martha  married 
Thomas  Mann  Randolph,  and  Mary  John  Wayles  Epps.  In  addi 
tion  to  the  qualities  of  the  head  and  heart,  Mrs.  Jefferson  had 
one  acquirement  that  had  a  peculiar  charm  for  her  husband. 
She  was  a  superior  musician,  singing  and  playing  with  inimi 
table  grace  and  skill.  Mr.  Jefferson  was  himself  a  skillful  per 
former  on  various  instruments,  and  particularly  the  violin,  to 
which  he  always  resorted  to  soothe  and  rest  the  mind  when 
fatigued  and  wearied  with  business  and  its  cares  and  perplexities. 
"When  his  house  was  burnt,  his  servant,  who  rode  a  distance  to 
inform  him  of  his  loss,  exultingly  told  him  that,  although  they 
had  not  saved  his  books  and  papers,  they  had  saved  his  "feeddle." 
Near  the  close  of  his  life,  he  informed  our  present  minister  to 
France,  who  is  also  a  musician,  that  from  his  boyhood  he  had 
spent  from  one  to  two  hours  a  day  in  relieving  and  refreshing  his 
mind  with  his  favorite  instrument.  This  mutual  love  of  music 
added  largely  to  the  felicity  of  both  during  Mrs.  Jefferson's  life. 
Mrs.  Jefferson  was  feeble  and  ill  a  considerable  portion  of  the  time 
after  her  marriage  to  Mr.  Jefferson.  He  was  her  willing  and  fa 
vorite  watcher  and  nurse  when  ill.  During  her  last  illness  of 
four  months,  he  was  never  out  of  call,  and  nearly  the  whole  time 
either  in  the  room  with  her,  or  writing  in  an  adjoining  one,  with 
the  door  open  between.  At  her  death,  he  was  led  from  the  room 
in  a  state  of  insensibility,  and  fainted.  It  was  feared  he  never 
would  revive.  He  kept  his  room  for  three  weeks,  walking  night 
and  day,  when  not  too  much  fatigued  to  do  so.  The  care,  man 
agement,  and  education  of  his  daughters  devolved  upon  him. 
Few  mothers  could  have  been  more  successful.  His  motive  in 


THOMAS   JEFFEESON.  17 

accepting,  not  long  after  the  death  of  his  wife,  the  mission  to 
France,  was  to  restore  his  health  and  strength  by  visiting  new 
scenes,  and  to  secure  the  best  facilities  for  the  education  of  his 
daughters.  While  in  Paris,  he  permitted  his  oldest  daughter  to 
anticipate  her  monthly  allowance.  He  showed  how  careful  and 
correct  a  father  he  was  by  writing  to  her  at  the  same  time : 

"  This  is  a  departure  from  that  rule  which  I  wish  to  see  you 
governed  by,  through  your  whole  life,  of  never  buying  any  thing 
that  you  have  not  the  money  in  your  pocket  to  pay  for.  Be 
sssured  that  it  gives  more  pain  to  the  mind  to  be  in  debt,  than  to 
do  without  any  article  which  we  may  seem  to  want." 

Such  advice  shows  the  nobleness  and  justice  of  his  heart.  He 
kept  a  minute  account  of  all  his  expenses  down  to  a  penny,  and  made 
a  memorandum  of  what  he  might  wish  to  recollect.  Every  thing 
was  conscientiously  done.  His  political  acts  were  naturally  char 
acterized  by  his  noble  sentiments.  They  were  to  mankind  what 
his  private  life  was  in  his  own  family  circle.  Emanating  from  the 
heart,  they  reached  the  heart  of  others,  and  produced  deep  impres 
sions.  When  age  drew  on,  and  his  fortune  had  become  mostly 
exhausted,  or  absorbed  by  indorsing  for  an  esteemed  friend,  no 
change  in  his  feelings,  principles,  or  actions  was  discovered  by 
those  around  him.  He  was  cheerful  and  happy  to  the  last  hour 
of  his  life. 

From  the  time  Mr.  Jefferson  became  the  acknowledged  head 
of  the  Democratic  party  to  the  end  of  his»life,  he  was  subject  to 
the  most  rancorous  abuse  by  those  who  differed  with  him  in  opin 
ion.  Nothing  was  too  bad  or  disgraceful  to  impute  to  him, 
either  morally  or  politically.  The  press,  the  pulpit,  and  the  slan 
derous  tongue,  assailed  him.  But  he  rose  above  all  the  efforts  to 
crash  him.  However  galling  these  things  might  be,  they  produced 
no  change  in  him.  He  did  not  meet  violence  with  violence.  In 
this  respect,  his  public  life  was  in  harmony  with  his  private  life. 
He  only  spoke  of  the  good  qualities  of  men.  He  delighted  in 
what  was  good,  and  had  no  taste  for  any  thing  of  the  opposite 
character.  Although  not  without  temper,  it  was  under  the  most 
perfect  control,  and  was  never  the  cause  of  thought  or  action. 
His  will  was  firm  and  inflexible ;  and  it  was  remarked  of  him  th 


18  DEMOCRACY   IN   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

"  he  never  abandoned  a  plan,  a  principle,  or  a  friend."  His  great 
maxim  was,  "Be  just,  be  true,  love  your  neighbor  as  yourself,  and 
your  country  more  than  yourself."  He  truly  exemplified  what  he 
taught. 

Mr.  Jefferson  was  well  versed  in  the  arts  and  sciences,  and 
was  distinguished  as  a  philosopher,  and  made  president  of  the 
American  Philosophical  Society.  But  his  favorite  pursuit  was 
agriculture,  which  he  pursued  with  zeal  and  energy,  when  not 
occupied  with  public  affairs ;  in  whatever  he  might  be  engaged, 
the  leading  purpose  of  his  mind  seemed  to  be,  benefiting  man 
kind.  Whether  in  the  halls  of  legislation,  as  minister  abroad,  in 
an  executive  department  at  home,  or  at  the  head  of  the  Govern 
ment,  the  great  object  was  ever  the  same — to  improve  the  condi 
tion  of  the  people,  morally  and  politically,  and  to  promote  their 
independence  and  happiness.  To  these  objects  he  devoted  a  long 
life,  and  incessant  and  successful  labor.  A  life  thus  employed 
had  a  tendency  to  ennoble  and  diffuse  the  principles  of  democracy 
among  his  countrymen.  lie  had  the  happiness  of  seeing  the 
Democrats  in  the  ascendency,  and  mainly  controlling  the  national 
Government,  and  in  most  of  the  States,  for  a  quarter  of  a  century 
before  his  death.  His  memory  will  ever  be  cherished  by  all  who 
confide  in  the  benign  and  protective  principles  of  democracy. 

10.— JEFFERSON'S  POLITICAL  PRINCIPLES. 

At  an  early  age  Mr.  Jefferson  seemed  to  have  an  instinctive 
knowledge  of  democratic  principles,  in  support  of  which  he  de 
voted  the  best  energies  of  his  life.  The  questions  before  the  pub 
lic  presented  them  more  or  less  distinctly,  but  they  were  always 
found  at  the  bottom.  He  believed  that  man  was  placed  on  earth, 
not  to  be  ruled  at  the  will  of  others,  but  under  laws  protect 
ing  him  from  personal  aggression,  to  live  free  and  independent, 
and  to  be  permitted  to  work  out  his  own  happiness  in  the  best 
way  he  could.  Every  thing  calculated  to  produce  these  conse 
quences  met  his  approbation,  and  whatever  had  the  contrary 
tendency  he  vigorously  condemned.  To  insure  this  result, 
man  must  participate  in  forming  the  laws  of  protection,  and 
adapt  them  to  the  object  in  view.  If  taxes  were  to  be  imposed  to 


19 

cover  the  necessary  expenses  of  protection,  those  who  were  to 
piy  them  should  be  represented,  and  heard  in  fixing  the  amount 
a>  id  determining  how,  and  from  what  sources,  they  should  be  raised. 
I,1'  crimes  were  imputed,  the  accused  should  be  tried  in  the  vicin 
age  by  a  jury  of  his  equals,  where  his  character  could  be  shown, 
if  he  deemed  it  useful  evidence,  and  where  the  expressions,  modes 
of  thought,  and  action,  could  be  best  understood,  and  where  judge 
and  jury  could  best  appreciate  the  evidence  presented.  As  tyranny 
generally  resulted  from  successful  military  operations,  he  believed 
the  civil  authorities  should  be  deemed  the  superior,  confining  the 
military  to  the  business  of  supporting  and  protecting  them.  He 
believed  that  those  who  were  to  pay  them  should  determine  the 
number  and  compensation  of  public  officers,  and  that  a  distant 
jurisdiction  was  inadequate  to  determine  such  questions.  These 
principles  were  put  forth  in  various  public  papers,  and  were  en 
larged  upon  and  embodied  in  the  Declaration  of  Independence. 
The  people  then  resolved  to  shake  off  colonial  bondage,  establish 
new  governments  to  protect  them,  and  to  select  for  themselves 
the  road  to  happiness.  This  resolve  was  a  success.  lie  saw  that 
the  old  law  of  entails,  giving  the  oldest  son  the  whole  real  estate, 
instead  of  dividing  it  among  all,  was  not  justly  protecting  the  chil 
dren,  but  robbing  the  others  for  the  benefit  of  one.  It  was 
through  his  indomitable  energy  that  this  relic  of  injustice  was 
swept  from  the  statute-book  of  Virginia. 

Appreciating  the  fact  that  knowledge  is  power,  he  used  great 
exertions  to  secure  schools  suitable  for  the  education  of  all, 
which  would  enable  those  attending  them  to  secure  that  knowl 
edge  which  is  necessary  for  their  protection  and  support. 

Virginia  had  her  established  Church,  toward  the  support  of 
which  all  were  bound  to  contribute  ;  and  thus,  instead  of  protect 
ing  those  not  of  that  Church  in  the  freedom  of  conscience,  and 
the  right  freely  to  give  and  to  worship  God  in  their  own  way, 
they  were  forced  to  support  a  church  they  did  not  approve.  This 
was  not  protection,  nor  permitting  men  to  pursue  happiness  in 
their  own  way.  Mr.  Jefferson  was  the  author  of  the  statute  of 
religious  freedom  in  Virginia,  which  contains  these  words : 

"  That  no  man  shall  be  compelled  to  frequent  or  support  any 


20  DEMOCEACT   IN  THE   UNITED   STATES. 

religious  worship,  place,  or  ministry  whatsoever,  nor  shall  "be 
forced,  restrained,  molested,  or  burdened  in  his  body  or  goods, 
nor  shall  otherwise  suffer  on  account  of  his  religious  opinions  or 
belief ;  but  that  all  men  shall  be  free  to  profess,  and  by  argument 
to  maintain,  their  opinions  in  matters  of  religion,  and  that  the 
same  shall  in  no  wise  diminish,  enlarge,  or  affect  their  civil 
capacities." 

This  bill,  being  eventually  adopted,  left  all  men  free  to  pursue 
happiness  in  their  own  way  in  religious  matters.  He  was  instru 
mental  in  securing  the  passage  of  other  laws,  based  upon  like 
principles,  in  Virginia,  which  still  remain  in  force. 

In  forming  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  the  demo 
cratic  and  anti-democratic  principles  were  most  clearly  developed 
— the  one  side,  with  Madison  at  their  head,  demanding  a  General 
Government,  supreme,  as  far  as  it  went,  with  limited  powers,  and 
those  of  a  representative  democratic  character ;  the  other,  seek 
ing  to  frame  one  largely  after  the  English  model.  The  former 
were  successful ;  the  latter  have  been  indefatigable  in  their  efforts 
to  change  the  form  by  construction,  seeking  to  enlarge  the 
powers  of  the  national,  and  to  curtail  those  of  the  State  govern 
ments.  The  great  civil  revolution  of  1800  involved  this  precise 
point.  The  anti-Democrats,  then  called  "  Federalists,"  said  in  sub 
stance  that  "  the  officers  of  the  national  Government  are  wiser 
than  those  of  the  States,  and  best  know  what  to  compel  the  peo 
ple  to  do,  both  as  to  the  passage  of  laws  for  their  government 
and  regulations  for  their  business."  They  assumed  to  dictate  who 
should  be  public  agents,  and  assured  the  people  that  they  would 
be  happier  if  they  allowed  them  to  continue  in  office,  and  permit 
their  principles  to  control.  The  Democrats  answered :  "  Let  the 
Federal  Government  exercise  those  powers  which  are  indisputably 
conferred  upon  it,  and  leave  the  State  authorities,  who  are  best 
acquainted  with  the  interests  and  wishes  of  their  people,  to  attend 
to  all  matters  within  their  jurisdiction  in  their  own  way,  and 
under  their  own  local  constitutions.  .What  may  be  best  in  one 
State,  may  not  be  best  for  all.  Congress  cannot  know,  or  might 
not  care,  while  each  State  would  be  alive  to  its  own  interests,  and 
best  know  what  will  most  certainly  lead  their  people  to  happiness  ! 


JEFFERSON'S  POLITICAL  PRINCIPLES.  21 

Mr.  Jefferson  was  the  Democratic  standard-bearer  in  this  battle, 
a^id  triumphed.  The  great -question  was,  Shall  the  people  be  free 
a  id  independent,  or  shall  the  national  Constitution  be  so  con 
strued  that  the  Federal  Government,  through  Congress,  shall  rule 
them  as  masters?  The  majority  of  the  people  went  with  Jeffer 
son,  and  reflected  him  almost  unanimously.  But,  strange  to  say, 
tie  same  question,  in  some  form,  has  ever  since  been  before  the 
people.  Anti-Democrats  are  as  persevering  as  their  principles  are 
dangerous  to  liberty.  Often  appearing  under  new  names,  and 
modified  or  changed  professions  of  public  good,  the  same  prin 
ciple  of  compulsory  ruling  is  ever  found  at  the  bottom,  though 
not  always  seen  at  first  glance.  But  study  and  reflection  will,  in 
the  end,  disclose  it,  however  plausibly  it  may  be  disguised.  We 
E.hall  call  attention  to  many  of  these  efforts  to  control  the  coun 
try  and  the  people,  by  resort  to  constructive  powers  which  are 
nowhere  found  in  the  Constitution. 

Mr.  Jefferson's  views  of  the  working  influence  of  democratic 
principles  are  nowhere  more  concisely  stated  than  in  his  first  in 
augural  address,  or  more  strikingly  contrasted  with  those  of  con 
flicting  character.  He  there  said : 

"  Kindly  separated  by  Nature  and  a  wide  ocean  from  the 
exterminating  havoc  of  one  quarter  of  the  globe,  too  high- 
minded  to  endure  the  degradations  of  the  others,  possessing  a 
chosen  country,  with  room  enough  for  our  descendants  to  the 
hundredth  thousandth  generations,  entertaining  a  due  sense  of  our 
equal  rights  to  the  use  of  our  own  faculties,  to  the  acquisitions  of 
our  industry,  to  honor  and  confidence  from  our  fellow-citizens, 
resulting,  not  from  birth,  but  from  our  actions  and  their  sense  of 
them  ;  enlightened  by  a  benign  religion,  professed,  indeed,  and 
practised  in  various  forms,  yet  all  of  them  in  eluding  honesty,  truth, 
temperance,  gratitude,  and  the  love  of  man  ;  acknowledging  and 
adoring  an  overruling  Providence,  which,  by  all  its  dispensations, 
proves  that  it  delights  in  the  happiness  of  man  here  and  his 
greater  happiness  hereafter  ;  with  all  these  blessings,  what  more  is 
necessary  to  make  us  a  happy  and  prosperous  people  ?  Still,  one 
thing  more,  fellow-citizens,  a  wise  and  frugal  government,  which 
shall  restrain  men  from  injuring  one  another,  which  shall  leave 


22  DEMOCKACY   IN   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

them  otherwise  free  to  regulate  their  own  pursuits  of  industry  and 
improvement,  and  shall  not  take  from  the  mouth  of  Labor  the 
bread  it  has  earned.  This  is  the  sum  of  good  government,  and 
this  is  necessary  to  close  the  circle  of  our  felicities. 

"About  to  enter,  fellow-citizens,  on  the  exercise  of  duties 
which  comprehend  every  thing  dear  and  valuable  to  you,  it  is 
proper  that  you  should  understand  what  I  deem  essential  princi 
ples  of  our  Government,  and  consequently  those  which  ought  to 
shape  its  administration.  I  will  compress  them  within  the  nar 
rowest  compass  they  will  bear,  stating  the  general  principle,  but 
not  all  its  limitations.  Equal  and  exact  justice  to  all  men,  of  what 
ever  state  or  persuasion,  religious  or  political ;  peace,  commerce,  and 
honest  friendship  with  all  nations — entangling  alliances  with  none  ; 
the  support  of  the  State  governments  in  all  their  rights,  as  the  most 
competent  administrations  for  our  domestic  concerns>  and  the 
surest  bulwarks  against  anti-republican  tendencies  ;  the  preserva 
tion  of  the  General  Government  in  its  whole  constitutional  vigor, 
as  the  sheet-anchor  of  our  peace  at  home  and  safety  abroad ;  a, 
jealous  care  of  the  right  of  election  by  the  people ;  a  mild  and 
safe  corrective  of  abuses  which  arc  lopped  off  by  the  sword  of 
revolution,  when  peaceable  remedies  are  unprovided  ;  absolute  ac 
quiescence  in  the  decisions  of  the  majority — the  vital  principle 
of  republics,  from  which  there  is  no  appeal  but  to  force,  the  vital 
principle  and  immediate  parent  of  despotism  ;  a  well-disciplined 
militia — our  best  reliance  in  peace,  and  for  the  first  moments  of 
war,  till  regulars  may  relieve  them  ;  the  supremacy  of  the  civil 
over  the  military  authority  ;  economy  in  the  public  expense,  that 
labor  may  be  lightly  burdened  ;  an  honest  payment  of  our  debts, 
and  sacred  preservation  of  the  public  faith;  encouragement  of 
agriculture,  and  of  commerce,  as  its  handmaid  ;  the  diffusion  of 
information,  and  the  arraignment  of  all  abuses  at  the  bar  of  public 
reason;  freedom  of  religion;  freedom  of  the  press;  freedom  of 
person  under  the  protection  of  the  habeas  corpus  ;  and  trials  by 
juries  impartially  selected— these  principles  form  the  bright  Con 
stitution  which  has  gone  before  us,  and  guided  our  steps  through 
an  age  of  revolution  and  reform.  The  wisdom  of  our  sages  and 
the  blood  of  our  heroes  have  been  devoted  to  their  attainment. 


23 

They  should  be  the  creed  of  our  political  faith — the  text  of  civil 
instruction — the  touchstone  to  try  the  service  of  those  we  trust ; 
and  should  we  wander  from  them  in  moments  of  error  or  alarm, 
let  us  hasten  to  retrace  our  steps  and  to  regain  the  road  which  alone 
leads  to  peace,  liberty,  and  safety  !  " 

A  clearer  and  more  forcible  exposition  of  democratic  prin 
ciples  is  nowhere  to  be  found.  They  have  ever  continued  to  be 
the  guide  of  that  party,  which,  if  it  ever  has  been  misled  for  a 
moment  from  the  path  here  marked  out,  it  soon  returned  to 
the. road  of  honor  and  safety,  and  pursued  it  with  unshaken  con 
fidence.  Anti-democratic  principles  are  the  converse  of  those 
thus  announced  by  Jefferson,  and  the  course  of  the  political  party 
guided  by  them  has  demonstrated  their  devotion  to  them.  In  the 
course  of  this  work  we  shall  show  numerous  instances  where 
these  anti-democratic  principles  have  led  the  country  to  the  brink 
of  ruin.  The  salvation  of  the  country  will  ever  depend  upon  the  De 
mocracy,  as  taught  by  Jefferson  and  the  early  Democratic  fathers. 

11.— JEFFERSON'S  FIRST  TERM  AS  PRESIDENT. 

After  Mr.  Jefferson  was  declared  elected  by  the  House,  and 
eighteen  clays  before  he  was  sworn  into  office,  the  Federalists 
having  determined  to  enforce  the  Alien  and  Sedition  Laws,  and  to 
withdraw  from  the  State  courts  all  business  possible,  and  to  fill 
the  country  with  influential  men,  like  judges,  marshals,  district 
attorneys,  and  clerks,  to  aid  their  party  in  its  struggles  for  power, 
on  the  13th  of  February,  1801,  passed  an  additional  judiciary 
act.  By  this  they  created  six  new  district  courts  with  one  judge 
each,  and  six  circuit  courts  with  three  judges  each,  except  in  one 
case,  when  there  was  but  one,  all  to  hold  office  for  life,  and  not 
removable  by  Mr.  Jefferson.  These  judgeships  were  all  filled  on 
the  last  day  of  Mr.  Adams's  term  of  office,  by  his  political  friends. 
There  was  no  ground  for  saying  the  business  of  the  country 
required  this  large  addition  to  the  judicial  force.  The  sole  objects 
were  to  sustain  the  laws  referred  to,  and  to  aid  in  the  prosecution 
of  party  purposes,  as  well  as  to  thwart  Mr.  Jefferson's  freedom  of 
action  and  deprive  him  of  patronage,  while  it  enabled  Mr.  Adams 
to  pay  off  sundry  political  debts.  In  addition,  this  law  imposed 


24  DEMOCRACY   IN  THE   UNITED   STATES. 

unnecessary  burdens  to  be  borne  by  the  people,  in  paying  ex 
penses  of  these  courts,  and  in  unnecessary  calls  upon  them  for 
jury  duty.  This  act  was  in  all  repccts  anti-democratic,  and 
wholly  unwarranted.  After  full  discussion  before  the  people,  this 
act  was  repealed,  and  has  never  been  renewed.  Its  repeal  vindi 
cated  the  great  principles  of  Democracy,  in  relieving  the  people 
from  all  unnecessary  burdens,  and  defeating  the  objects  of  those 
who  enact  laws  for  the  purpose  of  using  patronage  to  secure  party 
objects.  As  there  could  be  no  question  as  to  the  objects  of  the 
Federalists  in  passing  this  law,  and  the  then  administration  acting 
under  it,  the  people  readily  and  emphatically  condemned  them, 
and  approved  of  the  recommendation  of  Mr.  Jefferson  and  his 
friends  in  Congress  in  passing  the  repealing  act. 

12.— JEFFEKSON'S  ACQUISITION  OF  LOUISIANA. 

When  Mr.  Jefferson  became  President,  the  acknowledged 
limits  of  the  United  States  extended  no  farther  west  than  the 
Mississippi,  nor  south  of  thirty-one  degrees  north  latitude,  extend 
ing  from  the  Mississippi  River  east  to  Pearl  River.  All  south  and 
west  was  claimed  by  Spain.  The  road  from  the  thirty-first  degree 
to  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi  was  through  that  river,  and  subject 
to  that  power,  who  sought  to  control  the  commerce  to  and  from 
the  States  bordering  on  the  east  side  of  that  river  and  the  Ohio. 
The  kind  expressions  of  the  Spanish  monarch  went  far  beyond 
his  kind  actions.  Our  communications  were  continually  embar 
rassed,  which  deeply  affected  the  settlement  and  prosperity  of  our 
Western  States  and  Territories,  which  were  sadly  harassed  by 
Indians.  No  suitable  and  permanent  arrangement  for  the  naviga 
tion  of  the  Mississippi,  from  the  thirty-first  degree  of  north  lati 
tude  to  its  mouth,  could  be  effected  with  the  Spanish  authorities. 
The  peculiar  situation  of  Spain,  and  her  fears,  induced  her  to  con 
vey  so  much  of  her  American  possessions  as  lay  east  of  the  Rio 
Grande,  and  indefinitely  north  and  northwest,  to  France,  under 
the  name  of  Louisiana.  Napoleon,  then  emperor,  with  numerous 
wars  on  hand,  readily  saw  that  it  would  weaken  him  elsewhere 
if  he  attempted  to  hold  this  distant  possession.  When  Mr.  Jef 
ferson  was  minister  in  France,  he  was  highly  esteemed  and  re- 


JEFFEESON'S  ACQUISITION  OF  LOUISIANA.  25 

spected  by  the  French,  and  a  kind,  good  feeling  still  existed  there  in 
his  favor.  He  ascertained  that  Napoleon  would  sell  this  almost  in 
defensible  property.  Some  doubts  existed  as  to  the  power  to  pur 
chase,  but  as  it  seemed  to  be  a  case  of  life  and  death  with  the  great 
West,  which  we  should  be  compelled  to  grapple  with  at  no  dis 
tant  day,  perhaps  by  conquest,  it  was  deemed  a  duty  to  purchase, 
and  thereupon  Mr.  Jefferson  acquired  all  that  immense  country 
lying  north  of  Mexico,  and  west  of  Pearl  and  Mississippi  Rivers, 
for  eleven  millions  of  dollars,  being  less  than  one  day's  expenses, 
en  some  occasions,  during  the  late  war,  and  less  than  the  cost,  in 
our  currency,  of  our  purchase  from  Russia  of  her  American  ice 
bound  regions.  No  act  of  Mr.  Jefferson's,  or  any  other  adminis 
tration,  has  been  as  useful  and  valuable  to  the  whole  country.  It 
was  purely  a  democratic  measure,  designed  specially  to  benefit  the 
whole  country  west  of  theAlleghanies;  to  open  to  them  a  free  and 
uninterrupted  road  to  the  West  Indies  and  the  rest  of  the  world ; 
to  enable  them  to  exchange  their  products  for  those  of  warmer 
climates,  to  build  them  up  at  home,  and  enable  them  successfully 
to  pursue  the  road  to' prosperity  and  happiness.  It  has  had  that 
effect,  beyond  the  expectations  of  those  who  brought  about  the 
measure.  It  has  given  us  some  nine  new  States,  and  half  a  dozen 
Territories. 

But,  wonderful  to  tell,  the  Federal  party  united  and  exerted  all 
its  power  and  influence  in  opposing  this  splendid  achievement  of 
diplomacy.  No  one  measure  was  more  strenuously  opposed. 
This  hostility  extended  even  to  organizing  Territories  out  of  the 
purchase,  and  the  formation  and  admission  of  the  earlier  States. 
The  anti-Democrats  voted,  with  one  exception — Dayton,  of  New 
Jersey — against  ratifying  the  treaty.  In  the  House  the  whole  Fed 
eral  phalanx  came  out  against  adopting  the  necessary  legislation  to 
carry  the  treaty  into  effect.  Few  agreed  upon  the  grounds  of  objec 
tion.  Some  assumed  that  the  House  was  not  bound  to  pass  such 
laws,  notwithstanding  they  had  sustained  the  contrary  position  dur 
ing  Mr.  Adams's  administration.  An  examination  of  the  votes  and 
speeches  on  these  occasions  will  show  that  sectional  feeling,  on 
the  part  of  the  anti-Democrats,  was  just  taking  root.  They  wished 
to  dwarf  the  West  and  preserve  their  relative  ascendency  in  the 
9 


26  DEMOCRACY   IN   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

Union,  and  thus  be  able  to  control  the  political  character  of  the 
•whole.  If  their  counsels  had  prevailed,  the  wild  beasts  of  the 
forests  would  have  roamed,  and  the  savage  ruled,  nearly  the 
whole  West ;  and  those  who  succeeded  in  preparing  productions 
for  market  would  have  been  at  the  mercy  of  another  government 
in  reaching  it. 

When  the  bill  to  admit  Louisiana  as  a  State  was  before  Con 
gress,  Josiah  Quincy,  a  leading  member  from  Massachusetts, 
declared  in  the  House,  that  the  passage  of  the  bill  "  would  justify 
a  revolution  in  this  country."  On  another  occasion  he  said :  "  I 
am  compelled  to  declare  it  as  my  deliberate  opinion  that,  if  this 
bill  passes,  the  bonds  of  this  Union  are  virtually  dissolved ;  that 
the  States  which  compose  it  are  free  from  their  moral  obligations^ 
and  that,  as  it  will  be  the  right  of  all,  so  it  will  be  the  duty  of 
some,  to  propose  definitely  for  a  separation — amicably  if  they  can, 
violently  if  they  must." 

This  is  but  one  of  a  large  number  of  similar  expressions 
emanating  from  Federal  members,  all  tending  to  prove  that  the 
Federal  party  at  the  East  preferred  severing  and  destroying  the 
Union,  to  aiding  in  the  growth  and  expansion  of  the  great  valley 
of  the  Mississippi.  The  people  of  the  great  West  have  to  thank 
Mr.  Jefferson  for  his  energy  and  influence,  and  the  ascendency  of 
the  Democratic  party  and  its  principles,  for  a  course  of  policy 
which  has  extended  protection  to  their  persons  and  property, 
and  for  being  permitted  to  pursue  happiness  in  their  own  way. 

13.— PIRATES  AND  THE  FREEDOM  OF  THE  SEA. 

For  years  before  Mr.  Jefferson  became  President,  the  pirates 
of  the  north  coast  of  Africa,  on  the  Mediterranean,  compelled  the 
civilized  nations  of  Europe,  and  our  own,  to  pay  them  tribute  for 
the  privilege  of  navigating  that  inland  sea.  While  minister  in 
France,  Mr.  Jefferson  sought  to  combine  those  interested  against 
this  outrage  and  disgrace,  to  break  it  up,  but  without  suc 
cess.  During  Mr.  Adams's  administration  he  followed  the 
custom  of  some  other  nations,  and  made  presents  to  the  Barbary 
pirates  to  an  amount  not  far  from  two  millions  of  dollars.  When, 
in  1800,  Bainbridge  carried  out  the  annual  tribute,  the  Dey 


PREACHING    OF   ANTI-DEMOCRATIC    PRINCIPLES.  27 

of  Algiers  compelled  him  to  carry  an  ambassador  and  some  pres 
ent  s  to  the  Sultan  at  Constantinople.  Instead  of  paying  tribute 
to  this  den  of  pirates,  and  submitting  to  the  resulting  national 
degradation,  Mr.  Jefferson  resolved,  by  sending  out  a  fleet  of  five 
vessels,  under  Commodore  Dale,  to  put  an  end  to  their  depreda 
tions.  It  was  in  this  war  where  such  men  as  Decatur,  Morris,  and 
others,  won  for  themselves  such  high  honors,  and  elevated  our 
national  character.  In  the  end,  after  some  delay,  our  navy 
triumphed,  and  the  pirates  were  permanently  put  down,  and  our 
sailors  have  been  as  free  to  navigate  the  Mediterranean  as  any 
other  sea.  The  difference  in  the  conflicting  principles  of  the  two 
parties  is  here  clearly  seen.  The  anti-Democratic  party  voted  ap 
propriations  and  consented  to  pay  tribute  for  leave  to  navigate 
an  inland  sea,  Mr.  Jefferson  and  the  Democratic  party  refused  to 
vote  or  pay  tribute  for  that  purpose,  but  crushed  out  the  powers 
th.it  had  received  and  continued  to  demand  tribute.  In  doing 
this,  the  Democracy  performed  what  was  needful  to  protect  our 
citizens  in  their  persons  when  pursuing  their  lawful  business,  and 
thus  securing  them  in  their  pursuit  of  happiness. 

14.— NEW  ENGLAND  CLERGYMEN  PREACHING  ANTI-DEMOCRATIC 
PRINCIPLES. 

Mr.  Jefferson  having  been  popular  as  the  American  minister 
at  Paris  during  a  portion  of  the  political,  social,  and  religious 
tornado  that  swept  over  France,  it  was  assumed  by  divers  politi 
cal  and  religious  teachers  in  this  country  that  he  was  an  infidel, 
o?.1  some  sort  of  an  anti-Christian.  His  being  the  author  of  the 
statutes  for  religious  freedom  in  Virginia,  served  to  strengthen 
this  belief.  It  is  extraordinary  that  these  imputations  came  only 
from  the  anti-Democrats,  while  there  was  as  much  piety  and  true 
religion  among  the  Democrats  as  among  their  opponents.  The 
Federal  politicians  shouted  the  false  imputation,  and  a  large  por- 
t'on  of  the  clergy  in  New  England,  and  many  elsewhere,  echoed 
and  reechoed  this  unfounded  political  cry.  Instead  of  preaching 
Christ  and  Him  crucified,  they  preached  anti-democracy,  and 
prayed  for  the  political  crucifixion  of  Mr.  Jefferson.  Instead  of 
instructing  their  hearers  in  the  truths  of  Christianity  and  moral 


28  DEMOCRACY   IN   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

and  religious  duties,  they  engaged  warmly  in  the  political  contests 
of  the  day,  and  especially  against  Mr.  Jefferson,  concerning  whom 
and  his  religious  principles  they  personally  knew  nothing.  Men 
attending  church  to  worship  God  freely,  according  to  the  dictates 
of  their  own  consciences,  found  themselves  in  a  political  forum 
where  democratic  principles  and  the  great  representative  of  them 
were  condemned  and  denounced.  This  was  an  open  invasion  of 
the  rights  of  their  hearers,  and  a  bold  desertion  and  dereliction  of 
their  own  duties.  Democratic  principles  teach  that  a  man's  reli 
gion  and  religious  faith,  and  his  mode  and  manner  of  worship, 
are  questions  between  him  and  his  Maker,  and  that  he  seeks  from 
religious  teachers  only  that  kind  of  knowledge  which  may  the 
best  enable  him  to  know  how  to  perform  these  duties.  These 
clergymen,  by  overacting  the  part  assigned,  or  assumed  by 
them,  by  attempting  to  dictate  political  action  and  belief  as  the 
commands  of  God,  lessened  their  own  influence  and  damaged  the 
cause  they  sought  to  sustain.  Few  would  accept  bold  assump 
tions  for  fixed  facts,  and  when  they  were  called  upon  for  tangible 
proofs  they  were  never  furnished,  and  their  listeners  lost  confi 
dence  in  them.  If  they  had  sought  for  truth,  they  would  have 
found  abundance  of  evidence  in  his  private  life,  and  in  his  public 
acts  and  documents,  disproving  their  oft-repeated  charges.  It 
was  then  known  that  Mr.  Jefferson,  as  one  of  a  committee  to  pre 
pare  a  device  for  a  national  seal,  had  proposed  for  one  side,  "the 
children  of  Israel  in  the  wilderness,  led  by  a  cloud  by  day  and  a 
pillar  of  fire  by  night,"  an  unmistakable  recognition  of  the  exist 
ence  of  God  and  His  protection  of  His  chosen  people.  Subse 
quently,  in  attempting  to  combine  his  colleagues'  views  with  his 
own,  he  retained  that  concerning  the  children  of  Israel,  etc.,  and 
surrounded  it  by  the  motto,  "  Rebellion  to  tyrants  is  obedience  to 
God."  In  seven  addresses  and  messages  he  recognizes  the 
Supreme  Diety,  one  of  which  commences  thus :  "  I  shall  need, 
too,  the  favor  of  that  Being  in  whose  hands  we  are,  who  led  our 
forefathers,  as  Israel  of  old,  from  their  native  land,  and  planted 
them  in  a  country  flowing-  with  all  the  necessaries  and  comforts 
of  life;  who  has  covered  our  infancy  with  His  Providence,  and 
our  riper  years  with  His  wisdom  and  power,  and  to  whose  good- 


SECESSION  PROPOSED  BY  NEW  ENGLAND  ANTI-DEMOCRATS.  29 

ness  I  ask  you  to  join  with  me  in  supplications,"  etc.  No  one 
i  using  such  language  can  be  truly  called  an  infidel.  Partisanship 
]  originated  the  charge,  and  a  desire  to  secure  the  success  of  anti- 
i!  democratic  principles  alone  gave  it  currency.  The  object  was  to 
:  prevent  men  acting  independently  and  carrying  out  their  political 
{  principles,  and  to  cheat  them  into  the  support  of  those  which 
J  they  disapproved  and  condemned. 

It  is  deeply  to  be  regretted  that  history  shows  that  this  great 
.  error  and  wrong  has  been  oft  repeated  since,  by  the  same  parti- 
i  sans  in  the  same  quarter  and  elsewhere. 

!  15.— SECESSION  PKOPOSED  BY  THE  ANTI-DEMO CK ATS  OF  NEW 

ENGLAND. 

Formerly,  wars  in  Europe  were  nearly  synonymous  with 
i  aggressions  upon  the  commerce  of  neutrals.  Between  British 
orders  in  council  and  French  decrees,  our  commerce  suffered 
'  severely.  The  anti-Democrats  advocated  a  war  with  France  as 
the  rightful  remedy.  France  advised  a  war  with  Great  Britain,  as 
a  cure  for  the  evils  of  which  we  complained.  France  thought  we 
ought  to  hate  and  punish  Great  Britain ;  and  the  latter,  with  the 
Federalists,  assumed  that  we  ought  to  hate  France  and  punish  her. 
The  Democracy  held  that  neither  their  position  nor  their  inclina 
tion  required  them  to  determine  upon  the  right  or  duty  of  either 
belligerent  in  their  controversies,  and  that  the  true  policy  of  our 
cC'Untry  was  to  take  sides  with  neither,  and,  if  their  aggressions  be 
came  too  severe  to  be  borne,  to  cut  off  all  commercial  communica 
tion  with  both.  Both  were  to  blame ;  but  with  our  scanty  means 
and  inconsiderable  navy,  and  a  heavy  balance  of  our  Revolutionary 
debt  upon  our  shoulders,  it  would  have  been  madness  to  declare 
w  ar  against  both.  Jefferson  recommended,  and  Congress  imposed 
an  embargo.  This  was  deemed  an  ineffectual  remedy,  though  it 
was  generally  acquiesced  in.  But  at  that  time  the  commercial 
and  shipping  interests  of  New  England  were  deemed  far  more  im 
portant  than  her  agricultural  and  manufacturing.  The  embargo 
bore  harder  upon  the  former  than  the  latter.  Dissatisfaction 
sprang  up  and  was  industriously  spread  by  the  anti-Democratic 
party  against  the  authors  of  the  embargo  and  those  who  sustained 


30  DEMOCRACY   IN   THE   UNITED    STATES. 

it.  Instead  of  being  considered  as  the  means  of  protecting  our 
commerce  from  foreign  aggression,  this  measure  was  denounced 
as  a  criminal  assault  upon  the  shipping  interests  of  New  England, 
and  every  effort  was  made  to  overthrow  those  engaged  in  impos 
ing  and  sustaining  it.  Finding  the  Democracy  immovable,  from 
a  deep  conviction  that  they  were  right,  the  Federalists  set  about 
finding  a  remedy  which  they  could  apply  to  their  own  case,  if 
other  States  should  fail  to  be  convinced  by  their  arguments,  and 
join  them  in  their  proposed  means  gf  redress.  This  remedy  they 
proposed  to  find  in  secession,  by  which  they  could  shake  off  the 
whole  authority  of  the  national  Government,  wielded  by  Demo 
crats,  who  were  carrying  out  democratic  principles.  The  remedy, 
by  embargo,  it  is  true,  was  a  severe  one  for  us,  but  was  worse  for 
France  and  England.  They  lost  both  transportation  and  market, 
and  the  opportunity  to  purchase  of  us  many  things  of  indispensable 
necessity.  England  suffered  most,  because  she  manufactured  most, 
and,  having  no  market  with  us,  her  manufacturing  establishments 
were  compelled  to  close.  Starvation  followed.  A  faithful  observ 
ance  of  the  law  for  a  short  time  longer  would  have  brought  all 
to  a  sense  of  justice.  France  yielded,  but  England  held  out,  being 
encouraged  by  leading  Federal  politicians  among  us.  These  par 
tisans  in  New  England  openly  violated  the  embargo-law,  and  en 
gaged  largely  in  smuggling,  thus  defeating  its  objects.  It  became 
manifest  to  all  observing  minds,  that  the  embargo  laws  must  be 
strictly  and  effectually  enforced,  or  war  with  Great  Britain  must 
follow.  This  did  not  change  the  tone  of  the  anti-Democrats. 
Laws  were  passed  to  facilitate  the  execution  of  the  embargo ;  but 
this  only  increased  the  violence  of  its  adversaries.  New  England 
newspapers  appeared  in  mourning.  Mr.  Jefferson  was  declared  to 
be  worse  than  George  III.,  and  that  he  was  gratifying  his  fell  and 
inextinguishable  hate  against  the  prosperity  of  New  England,  and 
that  he  was  cringing  to  the  French  emperor.  Resistance  and  dis 
union  were  called  for  in  the  newspapers  and  by  the  votes  of 
numerous  town-meetings. 

Hillhouse,  a  United  States  Senator  from  Connecticut,  declared, 
when  the  Enforcing  Bill  was  before  the  Senate,  "  that  people  were  not 
bound  to  submit,  and  he  did  not  believe  they  would  submit ! " 


SECESSION  PEOPOSED  BY  NEW  ENGLAND  ANTI-DEMOCRATS.  31 

The  Boston  Sentinel  said,  every  man  would  presume  that  he 
was  not  bound  to  obey  the  embargo — that  if  "the  petitions  did 
not  produce  a  relaxation  or  remove  the  embargo,  the  people  ought 
immediately  to  assume  a  higher  tone." 

The  Boston  Repertory  said,  if  the  law  was  not  repealed,  it 
would  soon  be  "  set  at  defiance ; "  that  it  behoved  the  people  of 
Massachusetts  "to  speak,  for  strike  they  must,  if  speaking  did 
nc-t  answer." 

The  Boston  Gazette  exclaimed :  "  It  is  better  to  suffer  the  am 
putation  of  a  limb  than  to  lose  the  whole  body.  We  must  prepare 
for  the  operation.  .  .  .  Wherefore  thus  is  New  England  asleep ; 
wherefore  does  she  submit  to  the  oppression  of  enemies  in  the 
South  ?  Have  we  no  Moses  who  is  inspired  by  the  God  of  our 
fathers  and  will  lead  us  out  of  Egypt  ? " 

A  hand-bill  at  Neivluryport  stated  :  "  You  have  reposed  con 
fidence  in  a  coward"  (Jefferson) Nerve  your  arms  with 

vengeance  against  the  despot  who  would  wrest  the  inestimable 
germ  of  your  independence  from  yon,  and  you  shall  be  conquer 
ors  !  Give  ear  no  longer  to  the  siren  voice  of  democracy  and 
Jeffersonian  liberty.  It  is  a  cursed  delusion,  adopted  by  traitors, 
and  recommended  by  sycophants." 

Resolutions  adopted  at  Augusta,  Maine,  declared  that  hence 
forth  "  silence  would  be  crime,  and  resistance  would  become  a 
virtue  of  the  first  magnitude." 

A  Boston  meeting,  in  a  memorial  to  the  Legislature,  requested 
its  "  interposition  to  procure  for  them  relief  from  the  grievances 
they  now  suffered  ....  relief  against  the  unconstitutional  meas 
ures  of  the  General  Government,"  and  declaring  that  its  power, 
"was  adequate  to  this  object  wras  evident  from  the  organization 
of  the  Confederacy." 

A  meeting  in  Bath  requested  the  Legislature  to  take  such 
"immediate  steps  for  the  relief  of  the  people,  either  by  them 
selves  alone,  or  in  concert  with  other  commercial  States,  as  the 
extraordinary  circumstances  of  their  situation  might  require." 

A  meeting  at  Topsfield  resolved  that  a  war  with  Great  Britain 
would  be  unjust  and  to  be  deplored;  but  if  a  war  was  the  only 
alternative,  it  should  be  against  France,  and  not  with  Great 


32  DEMOCRACY   IN   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

Britain;  and  that  our  people  "might  find  many  sources  of  profit 
able  employment  without  interfering  in  any  degree  "with  those 
principles  of  maritime  law  which  Great  Britain  deemed  essential 
to  her  existence,  and  which,  in  an  eventful  moment  like  the 
present,  she  would  never  yield ;  .  .  .  that  neither  the  honor  nor 
the  permanent  interests  of  the  United  States  required  that  they 
should  drive  Great  Britain,  if  it  were  in  their  power,  to  the  sur 
render  of  those  claims  so  essential  to  her  in  the  mighty  conflict 
in  which  she  was  at  present  engaged  —  a  conflict  interesting 
to  humanity,  to  morals,  to  religion,  and  the  last  struggle  of 
liberty." 

An  immense  number  of  similar  extracts  might  be  made  from 
the  Federal  papers  of  that  day.  The  Common  Council  of  Albany, 
a  majority  of  whom  were  Federalists,  in  1805  passed  a  resolution 
that  the  Declaration  of  Independence  should  not  be  read  on  the 
Fourth  of  July  as  a  part  of  the  public  performance,  as  it  might 
perpetuate  hostile  feelings  against  the  British.  This  was  a  display 
of  genuine  Federal  feeling. 

A  report  by  Mr.  Gore,  in  the  Massachusetts  Legislature,  which 
was  adopted  by  the  unanimous  vote  of  the  anti-Democrats,  de 
clared  the  law  enforcing  the  embargo  "unjust,  oppressive,  and 
unconstitutional,  and  not  binding." 

The  Democratic  feeling  was  as  strong  the  other  way,  as  was 
emphatically  shown  at  Richmond,  Virginia,  on  the  day  the  votes 
were  cast  for  Mr.  Madison  as  President.  A  public  dinner  was 
given  to  the  electors,  and  the  leading  Democrats  of  the  State 
were  invited,  and  a  series  of  toasts  proposed  by  a  committee. 
Among  these  was  one  referring  to  the  attitude  of  the  Federalists 
in  New  England,  in  these  words  : 


This  was  the  Democratic  sentiment,  then  contrasted  with  that 
of  the  Federalists. 

Such  were  the  respective  positions  of  the  Democratic  and 
anti-Democratic  parties.  Mr.  Jefferson  resorted  to  every  possible 
means  to  enforce  the  law.  He  had  forces  stationed  at  Osweo'atcliie 

C3 

and  Plattsburg,  under  Wilkinson,  to  aid  in  the  execution  of  the 


SECESSION  PROPOSED  BY  NEW  ENGLAND  ANTI-DEMOCKATS.  33 

laws  and  to  suppress  insurrection.  The  New  England  Executives 
were  mostly  on  the  other  side,  and  gave  encouragement  to  those 
evading  the  law,  by  their  silence  and  inaction.  But  Governor 
Tompkins,  of  New  York,  prevented  the  spread  of  such  refractory 
manifestations  on  the  west  side  of  Lake  Champlain. 

The  Democrats  naturally  and  rightfully  preferred  to  endure 
the  onerous  consequences  of  a  cessation  of  foreign  commerce  for 
a  season,  until  our  enemies,  by  its  ruinous  effect  upon  them, 
should  yield  and  respect  our  rights ;  while  the  Federalists  were  for 
prompt  and  ready  submission  to  our  foes,  or  plunging  headlong 
into  a  war  which  would  equally  destroy  our  commerce  and 
deeply  injure  all  interests,  cause  the  loss  of  thousands  of  lives, 
grind  us  down  with  taxes,  and  pile  up  a  high  national  debt,  for 
another  generation  to  pay,  with  no  certainty  concerning  the  re 
sult, 

Here  we  have  patriotism,  willing  to  obey  the  laws,  and  to 
endure  temporary  inconvenience  to  preserve,  without  loss  or  ex 
pense,  our  independence,  and  the  right  freely  to  navigate  the 
ocean ;  and  on  the  other,  a  party  setting  the  laws  at  defiance,  pre 
ferring  to  yield  to  the  arrogant  claims  of  Great  Britain,  to  forego 
ing  their  convenience  for  a  short  time,  and  finally  declaring  that 
they  prefer  war,  with  all  its  horrors,  losses,  expenses,  and  resulting 
debts,  to  obeying  necessary  and  wise  laws.  No  one  can  doubt 
that  the  latter  had  two  objects  in  view :  first,  to  escape  a  neces 
sary  inconvenience  demanded  by  public  necessity,  at  whatever 
hazard  and  loss  to  others  and  the  public ;  and  second,  to  extort 
a  change  in  the  minds  of  the  voters,  to  bring  the  anti-Democrats 
into  power  again.  They  failed  in  both,  but  continued  their  hos 
tility  to  the  embargo  and  democratic  principles.  Great  Britain 
had  confidence  in  their  success,  and  continued  her  aggressions, 
which  in  the  end  resulted,  as  we  shall  show,  in  a  second  war 
of  independence,  wherein  the  anti-Democratic  party  was  on 
the  side  of  the  enemy,  and  against  our  Government,  as  it  was 
during  the  subsequent  war  with  Mexico.  Its  patriotism  always 
runs  against  our  country  in  every  controversy  when  the  Demo 
cratic  party  is  in  power.  This  is  a  natural  consequence  of  its 
principles  and  the  object  of  its  action.  It  seeks  to  rule  the 


34:  DEMOCRACY  IN   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

people,  instead  of  permitting  them  to  act  for  themselves;  and 
struggles  for  ascendency,  instead  of  battling  for  the  success  of 
our  country,  when  in  conflict  with  outside  anemies. 

16.— ONE  OF  NATURE'S  NOBLEMEN. 

When  Aaron  Burr  permitted  the  Federalists  to  try  to  strip 
Jefferson  of  the  presidency,  he  fell  in  the  estimation  of  all  honest 
men  not  bewildered  by  political  prejudice.  When  he  sought  to 
deprive  Spain  of  a  province,  or  the  Union  of  Louisiana,  whichever 
might  have  been  his  object,  he  fell  lower  in  the  estimation  of 
every  lover  of  his  country;  and  when  he  killed  Hamilton  in  a 
merciless  duel,  he  fell  to  the  lowest  depth,  to  rise  no  more. 
Although  pitied,  when  a  wanderer  in  Europe,  he  found  no  arms, 
no  house,  or  place  open  to  receive  him.  He  had  talents,  but  of 
the  managing  order ;  and  the  capacity  to  reach  the  feelings  of 
men,  but  not  to  induce  mankind  to  love  him.  His  farewell,  as 
Vice-President,  to  the  Senate,  on  taking  his  final  leave,  is  said  to 
have  been  one  of  remarkable  power,  bringing  tears  from  every 
eye,  but  it  did  not  occasion  esteem,  or  even  respect.  Such  is 
the  usual  fate  of  a  fatal  use  of  shining  mental  faculties.  His  suc 
cessor  was  George  Clinton,  of  whom  we  shall  now  speak.  He 
was  the  youngest  son  of  Colonel  Charles  Clinton,  and  was  born 
in  Ulster  County,  New  York,  in  1739.  He  received  a  respect 
able  education  for  those  times,  He  was  an  uncle  of  De  Witt 
Clinton,  afterward  Governor  of  New  York.  He  signalized  his 
daring  enterprise  by  sailing  as  a  privateer  during  the  French  war. 
Soon  after  his  return,  he  went  as  a  lieutenant  in  an  expedition 
against  Fort  Frontenac,  now  Kingston,  in  Canada  West.  On  his 
return  he  selected  the  law  as  a  profession,  and  was  soon  admitted, 
and  became  the  head  of  the  Whig  or  Democratic  part)*,  then  in 
a  minority  in  Ulster.  In  1775  he  was  elected  to  the  Continental 
Congress,  voted  for  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  and  was, 
in  1777,  elected  a  brigadier-general.  In  the  same  year  he  was 
elected  both  Governor  and  Lieutenant-Governor.  He  accepted 
the  office  of  Governor,  was  successively  elected  six  times,  holding 
the  office  eighteen  years  in  succession.  In  his  civil  and  military 
capacity  he  exhibited  great  energy,  and  rendered  highly  impor- 


35 

tant  services  throughout  the  Revolutionary  War.  He  was  the 
first  person  known  to  have  "recommended  the  clearing  out  streams, 
and  making  canals,  thus  opening  the  way  to  Lake  Cbamplain, 
and  also  to  the  West.  He  was  again  elected  in  the  year  1801. 
In  1804  he  was  selected  for  the  vice-presidency,  by  the  Demo 
cratic  party,  to  run  with  Jefferson,  those  nominating  him  wishing 
to  present  a  man  contrasting  as  strongly  as  possible  with  Burr. 
He  was  almost  unanimously  elected.  He  was  renominated  in 
1808  by  the  Democrats,  and  elected  with  Mr.  Madison,  and  held 
t'nat  office  when  he  died,  in  1812.  Throughout  his  whole  life  he 
vras  noted  for  his  strong  common-sense  and  high  personal  integ 
rity.  From  the  commencement  to  the  end  of  his  official  career, 
he  acted  with  the  Democratic  party,  and  was  ever  identified  with 
democratic  principles.  He  was  opposed  to  the  Constitution  of 
Hie  United  States  when  reported  by  the  Convention,  because  he 
found  that  the  new  Government  would,  one  by  one,  absorb  the 
powers  and  authority  of  the  States,  and  render  them  mere  wards 
of  the  national  authority,  in  which  he  was  prophetic.  He  pre 
sided  at  the  convention,  assembled  at  Poughkeepsie,  New  York, 
to  consider  the  question  of  its  adoption.  The  Constitution  would 
have  felled  before  the  Convention,  but  for  the  assurance  that  the 
amendments  it  proposed  would  be  adopted,  and  thus  prevent 
even  the  possibility  of  the  Constitution  being  so  construed  in 
practice,  as  to  carry  out  the  views  of  the  anti-Democratic  party. 
The  amendments  recommended  by  New  York,  Virginia,  and 
Massachusetts,  were  promptly  made  at  an  early  day.  But  this 
did  not  prevent  the  enemies  of  democratic  principles  from  seek 
ing  to  bend  the  Constitution  to  make  it  mean  what  they  desired. 
Mr.  Clinton,  and  all  Democrats,  contended  then,  as  now,  for  a 
strict  construction  of  the  provisions  conferring  power,  and  for 
preserving  the  States  in  the  complete  exercise  of  all  powers  which 
they  had  not  delegated  to  the  national  Government.  Except 
where  the  Constitution  had  taken  from  the  States  in  unquestion 
able  language,  he  claimed  that  they  retained  all  the  powers 
which  they  exercised  during  the  E evolutionary  War  and  during 
the  existence  of  the  Confederacy.  He  had  exercised  the  func 
tions  of  Governor  of  New  York  from  1777  until  the  adoption  of 


36  DEMOCKACY   IN   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

the  Constitution  in  1788,  a  period  of  eleven  years,  as  well  as  five 
years  afterward,  and  must  have  known  what  powers  the  States 
possessed ;  and,  from  presiding  over  the  Convention,  must  have 
understood  what  powers  it  was  intended  to  part  with.  From  the 
adoption  of  the  Constitution  to  the  close  of  his  life,  he  struggled 
to  restrain  the  national  Government  within  these  "bounds,  and  to 
sustain  the  States  in  all  their  rightful  supremacy.  When  called 
upon  as  the  presiding  officer  of  the  Senate,  in  1811,  to  give  the 
casting  vote  as  to  the  recharter  of  the  first  Bank  of  the  United 
States  (1791),  he  assigned  briefly  his  reasons  for  voting  against 
it,  and,  among  other  things,  said : 

"  In  the  course  of  a  long  life,  I  have  found  that  government 
is  not  strengthened  by  an  assumption  of  doubtful  powers,  but  by 
a  wise  and  energetic  exertion  of  those  which  are  incontestable ; 
the  former  never  fails  to  produce  suspicion  and  distrust,  while  the 
latter  inspires  respect  and  confidence." 

These  are  words  of  wisdom,  and  a  clear  illustration  of  pure 
Democratic  principles — principles  which  had  ever  given  impulse  to 
and  controlled  his  action.  George  Clinton  was  a  soldier  of  energy 
and  valor,  and  without  fear.  As  a  statesman,  he  was  wise  and  far- 
seeing  ;  and,  as  a  patriot,  his  heart  throbbed  only  for  his  country's 
good.  As  a  man,  he  was  honest  and  just ;  and  as  a  citizen  and 
Christian,  he  loved  all  mankind.  His  life  was  devoted  to  knock 
ing  off  the  shackles  and  clearing  away  the  obstacles  which  ob 
structed  the  path  of  men  pursuing  happiness  in  their  own  way, 
according  to  the  principles  of  democracy.  Such  a  man  we  hesi 
tate  not  to  declare  to  be  ONE  OF  NATURE'S  NOBLEMEN. 

17.— PROPOSITION  TO  IMPEACH  MR.  JEFFERSOX. 

There  has  never  been  a  case  of  impeachment  under  the  Consti 
tution  except  of  Federal  judges  who  held  life  offices — Pickering, 
District  Judge  of  New  Hampshire;  Chase,  Associate  Judge  of  the 
Supreme  Court ;  Peck,  District  Judge  of  Missouri ;  and  Hum 
phrey,  District  Judge  of  Tennessee — and  no  convictions  except 
Pickering,  whose  drunkenness  produced  insanity,  and  Humphcy, 
who  joined  the  secessionists.  In  Blount's  case  it  was  held  that 
a  Senator  was  not  impeachable,  and  he  was  lernoved  for  cause. 


PROPOSITION   TO    IMPEACH    MR.    JEFFERSON.  37 

But  two  impeachment  guns  have  been  fired  at  the  Executive. 
The  last  was  aimed  at  President  Johnson,  but  failed,  from 
insufficiency  of  powder.  The  other  was  aimed  at  Mr.  Jeffer 
son,  and  originated  in  his  firm  and  inflexible  resolution  to  enforce 
the  embargo  laws.  Nearly  all  the  hard  words  in  our  vocabulary 
had  been  raised  against  him  several  times  over  by  Senators  and 
members,  Mr.  Dana,  of  Connecticut,  claiming  that  they  should  be 
given  up  because  they  could  not  be  enforced.  They  all  seemed 
realy  to  pounce  upon  the  President  and  tear  him  to  pieces. 
Kival  orators  seemed  to  contend  who  should  be  the  most  severe 
in  words.  It  was,  however,  left  to  Mr.  Quincy,  Massachusetts' 
favorite  son  among  the  Federalists,  to  propose  his  utter  annihila 
tion.  On  the  26th  of  January,  1809,  he  said  he  had  arisen  "to 
perform  a  painful  duty."  It  was  a  "painful"  duty,  but  the  "occa 
sion  called  for  it,"  Every  member  "  who  had  reason  to  believe 
that  a  high  crime  or  misdemeanor  had  been  committed  was 
bound  to  state  that  opinion  to  the  House,  and  move  such  an 
inquiry  as  the  nature  of  the  supposed  offence  demanded."  The 
crime  or  misdemeanor  was,  that  Benjamin  Lincoln,  one  of  the 
oldest  major-generals  of  the  Revolutionary  War,  a  decided  Feder 
alist,  who  had  been  appointed  collector  of  the  port  of  Boston,  by 
General  Washington,  in  1789,. and  some  two  years  before  had 
asked  leave  of  Mr.  Jefferson  to  resign,  he  being  too  old  and  infirm 
to  discharge  his  duties,  and  Mr.  Jefferson  had  put  him  off  with 
out  accepting  it,  and  that  the  Government  had  paid  him  $5,000  a 
year,  which  he  did  not  really  earn.  Such  cases  of  crimes  are  few 
and  far  between  in  our  office-loving  country.  The  like  has  not 
since  been  heard  of  in  our  country.  It  was  a  provoking  disproval 
of  another  crime  often  imputed  to  Mr.  Jefferson,  that  of  removing 
all  Federalists  from  office,  and  appointing  his  political  friends.  It 
was  further  charged  that  Mr.  Jefferson  intended,  just  before 
going  out  of  office,  to  appoint  General  Dearborn,  his  Secretary 
of  War,  to  the  office  of  collector,  or  to  secure  it  at  the  hands  of  Mr. 
Madison,  his  successor.  The  day  of  voting  on  Mr.  Quincy's  mo 
tion  arrived.  Whether  the  planets  behaved  as  badly  that  day  as 
when  Peter  Stuyvesant  fought  the  great  battle  at  Christiana  Creek, 
the  careless  historians  of  the  time  have  not  told  us ;  but  certain  it 


38  DEMOCRACY   IN   THE    UNITED   STATES. 

is  that  the  clerk  called  and  called  again,  and  but  one  vote  was 
given  for  the  resolution,  and  that  by  Mr.  Quincy  himself !  Wheth 
er  Mr.  Jefferson  and  his  friends,  or  Mr.  Quincy  and  his  friends, 
"  breathed  freer,  deeper,  and  easier,"  is  not  recorded  in  the 
journal.  "Whether  this  bold  movement  of  the  redoubtable  man 
of  Massachusetts  has  deterred  all  other  Presidents  from  like  cases 
of  offending,  no  one  can  say  with  confidence ;  but  this  is  well 
known — proved  over  and  over  again — that  no  President  has  since 
subjected  himself  to  impeachment  for  the  crime  of  retaining  a  po 
litical  adversary  in  a  high  and  profitable  office  two  years  too  long. 
Such  a  case  is  not  likely  ever  to  occur  again,  after  Mr.  Quincy 's 
bold  assault  upon  such  a  heinous  crime.  It  seems  that  it  was  not 
then  known  or  suspected  that  a  President  could  be  impeached  for 
what  he  intended  to  do.  The  people  then  were  not  as  wise  as 
those  of  the  present  clay.  If  they  had  been  so,  Mr.  Quincy  would 
have  carried  his  point  on  the  latter  ground. 

18.— WHY  THE  EMBARGO  WAS  ABANDONED. 

Mr.  Jefferson  was  clearly  right  in  his  theory,  that  if  the  Em 
bargo  Law  were  faithfully  carried  into  effect,  it  would  compel  the 
British  Government  to  do  us  justice  without  our  sustaining  the 
losses,  expenses,  and  havoc  of  a  war.  But  it  was  scarcely  ex 
ecuted  at  all,  and  lasted  only  about  fourteen  months  in  all.  As 
was  clearly  foreseen,  war  followed  in  a  little  over  three  months 
from  its  repeal.  At  this  distance  of  time,  it  seems  strange  that 
such  a  measure  should  have  fallen  in  the  house  of  its  friends,  to 
be  followed  by  such  consequences  to  our  country.  But  it  had  its 
causes,  and  the  result  naturally  followed.  We  have  seen  that  the 
whole  anti-Democratic  or  Federal  party  were  opposed  to  the  law, 
sought  to  defeat  its  execution  and  purposes,  and  that  at  least  one 
branch  of  the  Massachusetts  Legislature  had  indorsed  the  actions 
and  feelings  of  its  political  friends. 

Most  of  the  New  England  Governors  and  State  Legislatures, 
if  not  active,  harmonized  in  feeling  with  the  enemies  of  the  law, 
and  neither  lent  a  helping  hand  nor  encouraged  others  in  its  ex 
ecution.  Insurrections  and  civil  war  wTere  imminent,  as  the  natu 
ral  consequences  of  the  actions  and  feelings  of  the  Federal  party, 


WHY  THE  EMBAKGO  WAS  ABANDONED.         39 

and  it  became  known  that  British  emissaries  and  the  Federal  lead 
ers  had  agreed  upon,  or  were  maturing,  a  plan  for  defeating  the 
law  altogether  in  New  England,  and  for  throwing  off  the  authority 
of  the  national  Government,  at  least  to  that  extent,  if  they  did 
not  sever  and  disavow  all  connection  with  the  Union.  The  Fed 
eralists  were  so  infatuated  by  party  feeling  as  to  appoint  a  com 
mittee  to  confer  with  British  emissaries. 

Mr.  Jefferson's  friend  Nicholas,  in  the  House  (January  25, 
1809),  moved  a  resolution  to  the  effect,  that  we  ought  not  to  de- 
lav  the  repeal  of  the  Embargo  Law  beyond  day  of 

and  then  to  resume  navigation  on  the  high  seas,  and  to 
defend  ourselves  against  all  nations.  This  was  subsequently 
changed,  so  that  if  by  a  day  certain  the  obnoxious  orders  and 
decrees  were  not  repealed,  then  letters  of  marque  and  reprisal 
should  be  issued  against  the  powers  complained  of  after  the  1st 
o'  June,  1812. 

This  resolution  occasioned  a  very  exciting  debate.  Some  of 
Mr.  Jefferson's  friends  became  alarmed,  and  especially  those  from 
New  England,  at  the  indications  of  insurrection  in  their  own 
States.  Against  the  wishes  of  the  mover,  the  date  when  the 
embargo  should  cease  was  changed  from  the  1st  of  June  to  the 
4-th  of  March. 

Although  not  then  publicly  known,  there  was  more  cause  for 
alarm  than  was  generally  apprehended.  Mr.  John  Quincy  Adams, 
who  had  previously  acted  with  the  Federal  party,  and  knew  much 
of  the  acts  and  of  the  intentions  of  its  leaders,  yielding  to  the 
convictions  of  duty,  disclosed  to  Mr.  Jefferson,  and  subsequently 
to  the  public,  facts  which  came  to  his  knowledge  on  this  subject. 
Among  other  things,  he  stated  : 

"  He  (Mr.  Adams)  urged  that  the  continuance  of  the  embargo 
much  longer  would  certainly  be  met  by  forcible  resistance,  sup 
ported  by  the  Legislature  and,  probably,  by  the  judiciary  of  the 
State  (Massachusetts).  That  to  quell  that  resistance,  if  force 
should  be  resorted  to  by  the  Government,  it  would  produce  a  civil 
war;  and  that,  in  that  event,  he  had  no  doubt  that  the  leaders  of 
the  party  would  secure  the  cooperation  with  them  of  Great  Britain. 
That  their  object  was,  and  had  been  for  several  years,  a  dissolution 


40  DEMOCEACY   IN   THE   UNITED    STATES. 

of  the  Union,  and  the  establishment  of  a  separate  confederation, 
he  knew  from  unequivocal  evidence,  although  not  provable  in  a 
court  of  law ;  and  that,  in  case  of  a  civil  war,  the  aid  of  Great 
Britain  to  effect  that  purpose  would  be  as  surely  resorted  to  as  it 
would  be  indispensably  necessary  to  the  design." 

In  an  article  in  the  Boston  Patriot,  in  1809,  Mr.  Adams  fur 
ther  stated : 

"  They  (Mr.  Ames's  principles)  are  the  principles  of  a  faction 
which  has  succeeded  in  obtaining  the  management  of  this  Com 
monwealth,  and  which  aspired  to  the  government  of  the  Union. 
Defeated  in  this  last  object  of  their  ambition,  and  sensible  that 
the  engines  by  which  they  have  attained  the  mastery  of  the  State 
are  not  sufficiently  comprehensive,  nor  enough  within  their  con 
trol  to  wield  the  machinery  of  the  nation,  their  next  resort  was  to 
dismember  what  they  could  not  sway,  and  to  form  a  new  con 
federacy,  to  be  under  the  glorious  shelter  of  British  protection." 

At  a  subsequent  period,  it  became  known  that  the  Governor  of 
Canada  dispatched  one  John  Henry  to  New  England,  to  open  com 
munications  with  the  disaffected  Federal  leaders,  and  to  secure 
arrangements  between  them  and  England,  which  should  defeat  the 
laws  and  intentions  of  the  nation,  and  prostrate  Mr.  Jefferson  and 
his  party,  and  destroy  the  Union,  and  thus  secure  to  England  and 
the  Federalists  a  triumph. 

Concerning  the  mission  of  Henry,  Mr.  Jefferson,  in  a  letter  to 
John  Adams,  dated  20th  April,  1812,  said: 

"  Of  this  mission  of  Henry,  your  son  had  got  wind  in  the 
time  of  the  embargo,  and  communicated  it  to  me.  But  he  had 
learned  nothing  of  the  particular  agent,  although  of  his  workings, 
the  information  he  had  obtained  appears  now  to  have  been  cor 
rect.  He  stated  a  particular  which  Henry  has  not  distinctly 
brought  forward,  which  was,  that  the  Eastern  States  were  not  to 
be  required  to  make  a  formal  act  of  separation  from  the  Union, 
and  to  take  part  in  the  war  against  it;  a  measure  deemed  much 
too  strong  for  their  people  :  but  to  declare  themselves  in  a  state 
of  neutrality,  in  consideration  of  which,  they  were  to  Imve  peace 
and  free  commerce,  the  lure  most  likely  to  insure  acquiescence." 

The  effect  of  these  malign  influences  in  New  England,  upon 


41 

Congress  and  the  embargo,  is  thus  described  by  Mr.  Jefferson  in 
a  letter  to  General  .Dearborn,  dated  16tli  July,  1810  : 

"  I  join  in  congratulations  with  you  on  the  resurrection  of 
republican  principles  in  Massachusetts  and  New  Hampshire,  and 
the  hope  that  the  professors  of  these  principles  will  not  again 
easily  be  driven  off  their  ground.  The  Federalists  during  their 
short-lived  ascendency  [the  repeal  of  the  embargo]  have,  never 
theless,  by  forcing  us  from  the  embargo,  inflicted  a  wound  on 
our  interests  which  can  never  be  cured,  and  on  our  affections 
which  it  will  require  time  to  cicatrize.  I  ascribe  all  this  to  one 
pseudo-Republican,  Story.  lie  came  on  (in  the  place  of  Crownin- 
shield,  I  believe),  and  stayed  only  a  few  days ;  long  enough,  how 
ever,  to  get  complete  hold  of  Bacon,  who,  giving  in  to  his  repre- 
santations,  became  panic-struck  and  communicated  his  panic  to 
l.is  colleagues,  and  they  to  a  majority  of  the  sound  members  of 
Congress.  They  believed  in  the  alternative  of  repeal  or  civil 
war,  and  produced  the  fatal  measure  of  repeal.  This  is  the  im 
mediate  parent  of  all  our  present  evils,  and  has  reduced  us  to  a 
low  standing  in  the  eyes  of  the  world." 

Here  we  see  why  the  embargo  wras  repealed,  and  all  the  ad 
vantages  of  instituting  it  lost  to  us.  It  was  the  negotiations  with 
British  agents  to  place  New  England  under  the  control  of  that 
power,  and,  if  need  be,  to  engage  in  insurrections  and  civil  war, 
thus  severing  the  Union,  to  accomplish  that  purpose.  These 
things  indicate  the  anti-Democratic  principles  of  the  day,  and 
their  fatal  consequences.  It  is  evident  that  Jefferson  knew  of 
their  existence  and  the  intentions  and  purposes  of  their  leaders, 
but  doubted  their  courage  to  carry  them  out  in  practice,  knowing 
as  he  did  that  criminals  are  proverbial  for  their  want  of  it.  They 
served  the  purpose  of  frightening  Congress  into  conforming  to 
their  wishes  in  repealing  the  embargo,  which  a  large  majority 
deemed  a  wise,  salutary,  and  necessary  measure. 

19.— "FREE  TRADE  AND  SAILORS'  RIGHTS." 

These  words  were  one  of  the  war-cries  of  the  Democratic 
party  before  and  during  the  War  of  1812.  They  had  a  special 
significance,  calculated  to  arouse  the  American  feeling.  France 


42  DEMOCRACY   IN    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

forbade  all  nations,  by  "her  Berlin  and  Milan  Decrees,  to  trade  with 
Great  Britain,  and  threatened  seizure  and  condemnation  as  a  con 
sequence  of  violating  them ;  but,  after  a  short  time,  she  made 
our  country  an  exception.  Great  Britain  not  only  threatened, 
but  actually  seized  and  condemned  our  ships  for  trading  with 
France,  by  her  orders  in  council.  It  was  trade  freed  from  these 
decrees  and  orders  that  was  referred  to  in  the  above  motto.  The 
war  opened  that  trade  which  we  continue  to  enjoy  to  this  day. 
We  now  emphatically  enjoy  "free  trade,"  so  far  as  interference 
by  other  nations  is  concerned. 

The  expression  "  sailors'  rights"  had  a  widely-different  origin. 
Great  Britain  has  ever  held  that  her  native-born  subjects  cannot, 
in  any  way,  throw  off  their  allegiance.  Her  maxim  is,  "  Once  a 
subject,  always  a  subject."  This  assumption  we  have  ever  con 
troverted.  When  her  subjects  come  to  us  and  become  naturalized, 
they  become  American  citizens,  owing  her  no  allegiance,  but  en 
titled  to  protection  from  our  Government.  Governor  Marcy's 
Martin  Koszta  letter  to  the  Austrian  minister  will  ever  stand  as  a 
monument  of  his  and  our  nation's  fame.  In  addition,  Great 
Britain  claimed  the  right,  and  had  acted  upon  it,  time  out  of 
mind,  that  under  the  king's  prerogative  she  had  unquestioned 
authority  to  impress  British  subjects  wherever  found,  on  or  witfi- 
in  prescribed  limits  of  the  sea,  and  to  force  them  into  her  naval 
service,  provided  they  were  or  had  been  seamen.  She  further 
claimed,  and  practically  asserted,  her  right  to  do  so,  to  enter 
American  ships  and  take  from  thence  all  such  persons  as  she 
claimed  as  her  subjects.  In  practice,  her  naval  officers  often  in 
sisted  that  speaking  the  English  language  was  prima  facie  evi 
dence  of  the  party  being  a  British  subject,  and  it  devolved  upon 
him  to  prove  the  contrary.  Hence,  it  was  not  strange  that  dis 
putes  arose  as  to  whether  the  person  claimed  was  a  British  sub 
ject  or  not.  The  whole  claim  set  up  by  the  British  was  disputed, 
and  "  sailors'  rights  "  to  sail  free  in  our  vessels  were  insisted  upon 
by  us.  This  principle  of  freedom  and  protection  was  clearly 
within  the  Democratic  theory,  and  necessary  to  enable  men  to 
pursue  happiness  in  their  own  way.  The  Democrats  were  willing, 
the  embargo  having  been  abandoned  in  a  panic,  to  go  to  war 


EIGHTS."  43 

with  the  most  powerful  nation  on  earth,  to  maintain  "  free  trade 
and  sailors'  rights."  When'  this  question  came  fairly  up  between 
us  and  Great  Britain,  the  Federal  party,  without  openly  and 
broadly  sustaining  her,  did  so  indirectly  in  a  variety  of  ways,  thus 
fun.ishing  evidence  of  a  disposition  to  excuse  if  not  to  defend 
her.  when  they  admitted  that  she  wras  actuallyjin  the  wrong.  We 
give  a  few  examples  to  illustrate  the  truth  of  our  remark,  first 
giving  a  statement  by  Mr.  John  Quincy  Adams,  made  as  early  as 
1808,  showing  the  number  which  had  then  been  impressed.  In 
his  letter  to  Mr.  Otis,  Mr.  Adams  said : 

"  Examine  the  official  returns  from  the  Department  of  State. 
Tli3y  give  the  names  of  between  four  and  five  thousand  men  im 
pressed  since  the  commencement  of  the  present  war,  of  which  not 
one-fifth  part  were  British  subjects.  The  number  of  naturalized 
Americans  could  not  amount  to  one-tenth.  I  hazard  little  in 
savino-,  that  more  than  three-fourths  were  native  Americans.  If 

c-  S" 

it  be  said  that  some  of  these  men,  though  appearing  on  the  face 
of  the  returns  to  be  American  citizens,  were  really  British  sub 
jects,  and  had  fraudulently  procured  their  protections,  I  reply,  that 
this  number  must  be  far  exceeded  by  the  cases  of  citizens  im- 
prossed  which  never  reached  the  Department  of  State.  The 
American  consul  in  London  estimates  the  number  of  impressments 
during  the  war  at  nearly  three  times  the  amount  of  the  names 
returned." 

In  1798  the  commander  of  a  British  squadron  in  the  West- 
Indies  seized  and  detained  a  part  of  a  fleet  of  American  merchant- 
vessels  on  their  way  to  Havana,  under  convoy  of  the  war-sloop 
Baltimore.  He  even  sent  on  board  this  sloop-of-war  and  took  five 
or  six  of  her  crew,  claiming  them  as  British  subjects.  He  was  not 
content  to  seize  on  board  the  merchant-vessels,  but  he  must 
aggravate  the  insult  by  taking  from  a  vessel-of-war.  This  act,  if  it 
had  been  generally  known,  would  have  set  the  friends  of  "  free- 
trade  and  sailors'  rights  "  in  a  blaze  ;  although  known  to  the 
then  administration,  it  was  not  even  made  the  subject  of  a  com 
munication  to  Congress. 

The  ultra-Federalists  insisted  that  the  number  of  impressments 
had  been  very  small.  A  committee  of  the  Massachusetts  Legis- 


4:4:  DEMOCRACY   IN   THE   UNITED    STATES. 

lature  reported  that  the  whole  number  of  impressed  Americans, 
prior  to  the  war  ( of  1812),  was  only  eleven,  though  we  have 
shown  it  to  have  been  many  thousands.  Mr.  Pickering  said, 
Great  Britain  only  "  desired  to  obtain  her  own  subjects,"  and  that 
the  "  evil  we  complained  of  arose  from  the  impossibility  of  always 
distinguishing  the  persons  of  the  two  nations." 

How  near  this  was  true  is  shown  by  Mr.  Pickering's  official 
letter,  dated  September  26,  1796,  to  Rufus  King,  our  minister  in 
England,  in  which  he  said :  u  For  the  British  Government,  then, 
to  make  professions  of  respect  to  the  rights  of  our  citizens  and 
willingness  to  release  them,  and  yet  deny  the  only  means  of  as 
certaining  those  rights,  is  an  insulting  tantalism."  And  to  Con 
gress,  in  1799,  referring  to  a  refusal  by  the  British  to  investigate 
cases  not  coming  through  the  British  minister,  he  said:  "Under 
this  determination  there  will  be  detained,  not  only  the  subjects  of 
his  Britannic  Majesty  not  naturalized  since  the  peace  of  1783,  but 
all  who,  born  elsewhere,  were  then  resident  in,  and  had  become 
citizens  of  the  United  States;  also  all  foreigners,  as  Germans, 
Swedes,  Danes,  Portuguese,  and  Italians,  who  voluntarily  serve  in 
the  vessels  of  the  United  States.  It  is  a  fact  that  such  foreigners 
have  been  frequently  impressed,  although  their  language  and  other 
circumstances  demonstrate  that  they  are  not  British  subjects." 

It  is  seen  that  Mr.  Pickering  substantially  convicts  himself  of 
untruths.  The  Legislature  of  Massachusetts,  on  the  15th  of  July, 
agreed  to  a  remonstrance  denouncing  the  continuance  of  the  war, 
after  Great  Britain  repealed  her  orders  in  council,  because  she 
found  her  people  would  be  stirred  up  against  us.  It  denounced 
it  as  unjust  because  we  had  not  removed  proper  causes  of  com 
plaint  by  providing  against  employing  British  seamen.  They  said 
we  had  not  exhausted  negotiation  on  the  subject;  that  "under 
such  circumstances  silence  toward  the  Government  would  bo 
treachery  to  the  people." 

Although  the  better  classes  of  Federalists  did  not  openly  make, 
or  authorize  excuses  for  British  impressments,  they  did  not  gen 
erally  publicly  condemn  them.  The  lower  strata,  from  what  they 
saw  and  heard,  believed  that  their  conduct  was  approved  and  sus 
tained  by  the  whole  Federal  party. 


JAMES    MADISON   AND    HIS    POLITICAL    PRINCIPLES.         45 

These  cases  of  impressments  show  one  party  excusing,  if  not 
approving  of  them,  while  the  other  was  willing  to,  and  did  ac 
tually  declare  war  and  hazard  their  lives  to  prevent  their  contin 
uance.  The  former  was  anti-democratic  as  well  as  anti-patriotic, 
while  the  latter  presents  a  striking  instance  of  what  democratic 
principles  require  and  lead  men  to  do,  in  order  to  protect  the  per- 
sor.s  and  property  of  the  people,  to  the  end  that  they  may  pursue 
the  road  to  happiness  as  they  choose. 

20.— JAMES  MADISON  AND  HIS  POLITICAL  PRINCIPLES. 

Mr.  Madison  was  the  personification  of  honesty,  intelligence, 
and  pure  democratic  principles.  A  native  of  Virginia,  near  the 
residence  of  Jefferson,  he  was  educated  at  Princeton,  New  Jersey. 
Alter  going  through  the  usual  college  studies,  and  graduating,  he 
remained  at  that  institution,  pursuing  mainly  under  the  celebrated 
Doctor  Witherspbon,  at  that  time  its  president,  those  higher  and 
broader  studies  which  so  eminently  fitted  him  for  the  high  posi 
tions  he  held  and  adorned  in  after-life.  He  cherished  through  life 
a  lively  recollection  of  the  services  and  instruction  of  this  learned 
nian  and  pure  patriot.  Returning  to  Virginia,  he  devoted  con 
siderable  attention  to  the  study  of  the  law,  and  the  principles 
upon  which  it  was  founded,  without  burdening  his  mind  with 
tnose  tortuous  rules  of  practice  which  often  bewilder  and  entangle, 
vrithout  improving  the  mental  faculties.  He  never  commenced 
the  practice  of  the  law,  nor  is  it  certain  that  he  was  ever  admitted 
to  the  bar. 

At  the  age  of  twenty-five  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the 
Legislature,  where  his  extreme  diffidence  so  far  overcame  him  as 
to  make  him  a  silent  and  not  a  popular  member.  He  failed  of 
his  reelection  the  next  year  upon  two  grounds — one,  because  he 
could  not  speak,  and  the  other  because  he  would  not  treat  the 
electors.  The  first  was  owing  to  his  extreme  diffidence,  and  the 
last  because  he  held  it  inconsistent  with  the  purity  of  elections. 
Hence  it  is  seen  that  in  one  of  the  first  steps  of  his  public  life  he 
sacrificed  success  to  that  purity  and  sobriety  of  conduct  from 
which  nothing  could  ever  induce  him  to  swerve.  The  Legislature 
repaired  this  error  by  electing  him  a  member  of  the  State  Council, 


46  DEMOCEACY   IN   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

a  place  lie  held  until  1779,  when  he  was  elected  a  delegate  to 
Congress.  In  the  Council  he  early  exhibited  extraordinary  capa 
city  in  the  preparation  of  documents,  and  soon  acquired  great 
still  and  ability  in  debate.  He  was  found  the  most  useful  mem 
ber  of  the  Council,  as  he  was  in  Congress,  after  he  took  his  seat 
in  that  body. 

After  serving  in  Congress,  and  again  in  the  State  Legislature, 
Mr.  Madison  was  elected  a  member  of  the  convention  to  prepare 
a  Constitution  for  the  Union,  where  his  knowledge,  skill,  and  effi 
ciency  in  debate  made  him  the  leader  of  those  devoted  to  demo 
cratic  principles,  as  Hamilton  was  of  those  of  an  opposite  charac 
ter.  His  labors  were  so  efficient  and  successful,  that  he  was  right 
fully  called  the  Father  of  the  Constitution.  When  that  instrument 
was  before  the  Virginia  Convention  for  its  consideration,  he  de 
fended  it,  as  he  had  done  in  a  large  number  of  articles  then  pub 
lished,  which,  with  others,  are  now  called  The  Federalist.  When 
the  new  Government  was  formed,  and  went  into  operation,  in 
1789,  he  was  elected  to  Congress,  to  aid  in  putting  it  in  mo 
tion,  according  to  the  intentions  of  the  framers  of  the  Constitution 
and  the  people,  whose  agents  adopted  it.  He  continued  in  Con 
gress  until  1797 — a  period  of  eight  years,  during  which  political 
parties  under  the  Constitution  were  formed,  each  representing 
political  principles  which  to  this  day  are  in  full  operation.  Madi 
son,  following  the  instincts  of  an  active  and  pure  benevolence, 
was,  and  remained,  a  Democrat  throughout  his  life.  Hamilton, 
and  his  associates,  by  instinct,  believed  that  mankind  could  not 
govern  themselves,  and  that  the  knowing  few  should  rule  and 
guide  the  ignorant  many ;  and  their  successors  still  believe  in 
these  principles  and  enforce  them  whenever  they  have  the  power 
to  do  so. 

When  Jefferson  came  in  as  President,  Madison  became  Secre 
tary  of  State,  and  continued  eight  years,  when  he  was  elected 
President,  receiving  122  votes  over  C.  C.  Pinckney,  who  had 
89.  He  retired  from  the  presidency  on  the  4th  of  March,  1817, 
after  having  sustained  our  country  in  a  three  years'  war  with 
Great  Britain,  which  was  closed  on  the  plains  of  New  Orleans, 
January  8,  1815,  in  "a  blaze  of  glory."  Many  of  the  incidents 


THE    DECLARATION    OF    WAK.  47 

of  this  war,  illustrating  our  political  theories,  will  be  hereafter 
given. 

On  leaving  public  life,  Mr.  Madison  retired  to  his  estate  at 
Montpelier,  in  Virginia,  where  he  enjoyed  the  esteem  and  respect 
of  mankind  during  a  period  of  twenty  years.  Such  was  the 
purity  of  his  character  and  his  conceded  high  motives,  that  dur 
ing  this  period  few  even  of  the  arrows  of  Federalism  were  aimed 
at  him.  It  is  now  conceded  that  Mr.  Madison's  state  papers  are 
among  the  ablest  and  best  written  of  any  produced  in  our  own 
or  any  other  country.  Not  a  useful  or  proper  word  was  omitted, 
nor  a  useless  one  inserted.  If  he  was  not  as  warm-hearted  and 
sympathetic  as  Jefferson,  he  was  as  wise,  prudent,  and  unselfish. 
Like  Jefferson,  he  was  opposed  to  pomp,  display,  and  ceremonies 
both  in  public  and  in  private.  Like  Jefferson,  he  was  in  principle 
a  Democrat,  without  alloy. 

21.— THE  DECLARATION  OF  WAR. 

In  imposing  the  embargo,  Jefferson  and  his  friends  sought  to 
avoid  war,  with  its  expenses  and  destruction.  They  sought  to 
impress  it  upon  the  public  mind,  that  a  surrender  of  the  embargo 
BMist  end  in  national  disgrace  or  war.  Many  Federalists  professed 
to  prefer  war  with  all  its  certain  calamities  and  doubtful  results  to 
continuing  it,  with  its  inconvenience.  They  declared  the  Demo 
crats  had  no  idea  of  war,  whatever  might  happen,  but  were  obey 
ing  the  bidding  of  the  Emperor  of  France  for  the  benefit  of  his 
country,  or  to  aid  him  in  his  merciless  wars.  Mr.  Quincy,  in  a 
speech  in  Congress,  declared  that  the  Government  could  not  be 
''kicked  into  a  war."  The  same  sentiment  was,  at  different 
periods,  proclaimed  by  other  Federal  members.  The  effort  was 
to  spread  a  belief  that  the  Democrats  dare  not  fight,  and  did 
not  intend  to  do  so,  however  much  the  country  might  be  in 
sulted. 

The  Boston  Repertory  said  :  "  My  life  on  it,  our  Executive 
has  no  more  idea  of  declaring  war  than  my  grandmother.  .  .  . 
Our  Government  will  not  make  war  on  Great  Britain,  but  will 
keep  up  a  constant  irritation,  on  some  pretence  or  other,  for  the 
sake  of  maintaining  influence  as  a  party.  .  .  .  We  are  firmly  per- 


48  DEHOCKACY   IN  THE   UNITED   STATES. 

suaded  that  the  majority  in  Congress  do  not  mean  to  declare  war 
at  present,  that  they  dare  not,  and  that  all  their  threats  are  con 
temptible  vaporing." 

The  Philadelphia  Gazette  said,  "  They  shrink  from  it,  .... 
they  are  frightened  as  the  aspect  becomes  a  little  serious,  and 
wish  to  go  home  and  think  about  it." 

The  Baltimore  Federal  Gazette  said :  "  If  you  think  that  a 
vote  to  raise  25,000  men  looks  like  a  war,  quiet  your  apprehen 
sions.  You  do  not  understand  what  is  here  called  management. 
There  will,  as  I  believe,  be  no  war.  The  war-whoop,  the  orders 
in  council,  the  non-importation,  the  Presidential  caucusing,  will 
vanish  before  summer."  A  thousand  similar  extracts  might  be 
found  and  presented. 

But  when  the  declaration  of  war  was  recommended  by  Mr. 
Madison,  every  Federalist  voted  against  it.  The  whole  party 
raised  its  voice  against  it.  Every  form  and  variety  of  denuncia 
tion  was  heard  against  those  who  voted  for,  or  approved  the 
declaration.  To  say  it  was  wicked  and  unjust,  was  too  moderate 
an  expression  for  the  more  violent. 

David  Osgood,  a  Massachusetts  clergyman,  said  in  his  pulpit : 
"  The  strong  prepossessions  of  so  great  a  portion  of  my  fellow-citi 
zens  in  favor  of  a  race  of  demons  and  against  a  nation  of  more 
religion,  virtue,  good  faith,  generosity,  and  benevolence  than  any 
that  now  is  or  ever  has  been  upon  the  face  of  the  earth,  wring 
my  soul  with  anguish  and  fill  my  heart  with  apprehensions  and 
terror  of  the  judgments  of  Heaven  upon  this  sinful  people.  ...  If, 
at  the  command  of  weak  and  wicked  rulers,  they  undertake  an 
unjust  war,  each  man  who  volunteers  his  service  in  such  a  cause 
or  loans  his  money  for  its  support,  or,  by  his  conversation  or  writ 
ings  or  any  other  mode  of  influence,  encourages  its  prosecution, 
that  man  is  an  accomplice  in  the  wickedness,  loads  his  conscience 
with  the  blackest  crimes,  brings  the  guilt  of  blood  upon  his  soul, 
and  in  the  sight  of  God  and  His  law  is  a  murderer." 

Dr.  Gardiner,  a  Boston  clergyman,  said:  "It  is  a  war  unex 
ampled  in  the  history  of  the  world;  wantonly  proclaimed  on  the 
most  frivolous  and  groundless  pretences,  against  a  nation  from 
whose  friendship  we  might  derive  the  most  signal  advantages  and 


THE   DECLARATION   OF   WAE.  49 

from  whose  hostility  we  have  reason  to  dread  the  most  tremen 
dous  losses." 

Mr.  Quincy,  a  Massachusetts  member,  who,  before  the  declara 
tion,  said  our  Government  could  not  be  "  kicked  into  a  war,"  de 
livered  a  speech  in  the  House,  characterized  by  great  virulence 
and  bitterness,  in  which  he  manifested  his  venom  for  the  Democ 
racy,  and  especially  those  who  were  foreign-born.  "  It  is  not  for 
sii3li  a  man  (as  himself)  to  hesitate  or  swerve  a  hair's  breadth 
from  his  country's  purpose  and  true  interests,  because  of  the 
yelpings,  the  howlings,  and  snarlings  of  that  hungry  pack  which 
corrupt  men  keep  directly  or  indirectly  in  pay,  with  the  view  of 
hunting  down  every  man  who  dare  develop  their  purposes ;  a  pack 
composed,  it  is  true,  of  some  native  curs,  but  for  the  most  part  of 
hounds  and  spaniels  of  very  recent  importation,  whose  backs  are 
scored  by  the  lash,  and  whose  necks  are  sore  with  the  collars^of 
tlieir  former  masters." 

Tallmadge,  of  Connecticut,  spoke  in  a  similar  strain,  and 
among  other  things  said :  "  When  he  reflected  on  these  awful 
aid  solemn  events,  he  could  not  but  weep  for  his  infatuate 
country,  and  if  he  had  an  angel's  voice  he  would  call  on  every 
rational  creature  in  these  United  States,  and  entreat  them  to 
pause  and  consider  before  our  country's  doom  should  be  forever 
sealed." 

A  volume  of  like  outpourings  might  be  collected. 

Henry  Clay,  then  a  young  Democratic  member,  answered  this 
class  of  speeches  with  great  spirit  and  force.  He  said:  "If  gen 
tlemen  would  only  reserve  for  their  own  Government  half  the  sen 
sibility  which  is  indulged  in  for  that  of  Great  Britain,  they  would 
find  much  less  to  condemn.  Restriction  after  restriction  has  been 
tried ;  negotiation  has  been  resorted  to,  until  further  negotiation 
would  have  been  disgraceful.  While  these  peaceful  experiments 
are  undergoing  a  trial,  what  is  the  conduct  of  the  opposition  ? 
They  are  the  champions  of  war — the  proud,  the  spirited,  the  sole 
repository  of  the  nation's  honor — the  men  of  exclusive  vigor  and 
energy.  The  Administration,  on  the  contrary,  was  weak,  feeble, 
and  pusillanimous — 'incapable  of  being  kicked  into  a  war.' 
.  .  .  .  Thcv  are  for  war  and  no  restrictions  when  the  Ad- 


50  DEMOCEACY   IN"   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

ministration  is  for  peace.     They  are  for  peace  and  restrictions 
when  the  Administration  is  for  war." 

This  was  one  of  Mr.  Clay's  proudest  efforts,  in  which  he  con 
victed  the  Federalists  of  double  false  pretences — all  to  get  into 
power  again. 

22.— THE  ANTI-DEMOCRATS  ENDEAVORED  TO  PREVENT  LOANS 
AND  ENLISTMENTS. 

All  know  that  money  is  the  sinews  of  war.  Without  it, 
armies  cannot  be  raised,  equipped,  or  kept  in  the  field,  nor  vessels- 
of- war  prepared  and  kept  in  service.  In  1812  the  Government 
was  without  ready  money.  Its  hopes  of  success,  to  a  very  con 
siderable  extent,  depended  upon  borrowing.  Congress  voted 
taxes,  but  it  required  much  time  to  assess  and  collect  them.  It 
could  vote  loans,  but  they  could  only  be  taken  by  those  who 
could  command  ready  means.  The  banks  of  New  England,  hav 
ing  an  abundance  of  means,  refused  to  lend  a  dollar.  The  New 
York  banks,  and  those  south  of  these,  lent  freely,  but  soon  be 
came  exhausted.  New  England  institutions,  by  way  of  punish 
ment  for  lending  the  Government,  pressed  them  and  forced  them 
into  the  suspension  of  specie  payments. 

We  have  seen  that  a  leader  in  the  New  England  pulpit  de 
nounced  loaning  to  the  Government  as  murder  in  the  eyes  of 
Heaven.  They  sought  "to  stop  the  wheels  of  Government  by 
draining  the  banks  in  the  Middle  and  Southern  States  of  their 
specie,  and  thus  producing  an  utter  disability  to  fulfil  the  loans." 
The  Federalists  in  the  press  and  pulpit  generally  acted  in  har 
mony  in  opposing  loans.  Such  was  the  vindictiveness  and  fury 
of  the  Federal  party,  that  those  advertising  for  loans  deemed  it 
prudent  to  pledge  themselves  not  to  disclose  the  names  of  the  sub 
scribers. 

The  Boston  Gazette  said :  u  Any  Federalist  who  lends  money 
to  the  Government  must  go  and  shake  hands  with  James  Madi 
son  and  claim  fellowship  with  Felix  Grundy.  Let  him  no 
more  call  himself  a  Federalist  and  friend  to  his  country. 
He  will  be  called  infamous  by  others.  It  is  very  gratifying 
to  find  that  the  universal  sentiment  is,  that  any  man,  who  lends 


THE  NAVY  AND  NAVAL  HEROES.  51 

his  money  to  the  Government  at  the  present  time,  will  forfeit 
all  claim  to  common  honesty  and  common  courtesy  among  all  true 
friends  of  the  country." 

New  York  was  ready  to  do  and  suffer  for  the  cause  of  the 
Union.  Her  Governor,  Tompkins,  devoted  his  whole  energies  to 
aiding  the  national  Government  in  the  day  of  its  peril.  But  at  the 
spring  election  of  1813  the  Federalists  elected  a  majority  to  the 
Assembly.  In  the  Senate  there  were  a  majority  of  Democrats, 
headed  by  Mr.  Van  Buren.  To  aid  the  national  Government  to 
sustain  itself  against  the  machinations  of  the  Federalists  and  the 
N"ew  England  banks,  a  joint  resolution  was  offered  in  the  Senate, 
.and  advocated  with  great  power  by  Mr.  Van  Buren,  General 
Root,  and  Governor  Lewis,  to  loan  the  nation  $500,000.  It 
passed  the  Senate.  In  the  House  it  met  the  opposition  of  Abram 
Van  Vechten,  Elisha  Williams,  Daniel  Cady,  and  others,  and  was 
lost.  From  these  proceedings  it  is  perfectly  apparent  that  the 
object  of  the  Federalists  was  to  cripple  the  national  Government, 
and  force  it  to  yield  to  the  power  of  Great  Britain,  to  the  great  dis 
grace  of  the  nation,  and  the  destruction  of  the  rights  of  the  people. 

We  have  thus  given  merely  specimens  of  what  was  said  and 
done  by  the  Federalists,  to  prevent  the  Government  from  effecting 
and  realizing  loans.  Such  things  were  in  harmony  with  anti- 
Democratic  principles,  which  do  not  look  to  the  protection  of  the 
national  honor  as  a  means  of  securing  the  prosperity  and  happi 
ness  of  individuals.  Crippling  and  dishonoring  the  Government 
is  what  Democratic  principles  emphatically  condemn.  Where 
would  the  Government  have  been,  and  what  would  have  been  the 
condition  of  the  people  at  large,  if  the  Federalists  had  been  per 
mitted  to  control  and  apply  their  theories  ?  Both  would  have 
been  crushed,  and  patriotism  would  have  wept  over  the  ruin. 

23.— THE  NAVY  AND  NAVAL  HEROES. 

At  the  commencement  of  the  War  of  the  Revolution  we  had 
no  navy,  and  at  its  close  but  a  small  one.  Afterward,  we  were 
struggling  under  a  heavy  debt,  growing  out  of  that  war,  and  it 
was  with  difficulty  that  we  met  our  engagements,  although  our 
taxes  were  high.  But,  by  1801,  we  had  enlarged  our  navy  to  an 


52  DEMOCRACY   IN   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

extent  that  enabled  us  to  crush  out  the  piratical  Barbary  powers. 
This  war  was  prolific  in  the  birth  of  naval  heroes,  whose  manhood 
appeared  in  full  vigor,  strength,  and  splendor  in  the  War  of  1812. 
While  our  public  debt  pressed  heavily,  and  no  foreign  war  was 
apprehended,  Mr.  Jefferson's  policy  was  to  avoid  taxation  as  far 
as  possible.  He  secured  our  coast  against  all  possible  invasion  by 
the  use  of  gunboats,  which,  during  the  recent  war,  proved  so 
efficient  and  useful,  at  a  very  moderate  expense. 

He  feared  that  our  means  were  insufficient  to  build  a  navy 
to  cope  with  Great  Britain  on  the  seas,  where  she  had  long  ruled 
as  mistress ;  and  adopted  the  conclusion  that  for  defensive  pur 
poses,  gunboats,  considering  their  cost,  were  preferable.  His 
adversaries  ridiculed  his  gunboat  system,  and  demanded  the  con 
struction  of  a  large,  stately  navy,  which  alone  could  be  used  against 
France,  if  at  war  with  her,  when  we  neither  had  the  means  to 
build,  equip,  nor  sailors  to  man  it.  As  war  became  inevitable,  our 
navy  grew,  and  the  number  of  our  sailors  increased,  while  the 
Tripolitan  war  had  developed  talent  to  command  it.  Although 
the  British  navy  was  large  and  scattered  over  old  Ocean,  her 
commerce  was  larger,  and  more  widely  spread,  and  consequently 
more  exposed  to  capture.  Her  great  -strength  carried  with  it  a 
greater  weakness.  Our  navy,  to  say  nothing  of  our  privateers, 
carried  havoc  into  her  commerce,  and,  when  it  met  only  equals,  it 
triumphed  over  them.  Our  commerce,  owing  to  Mr.  Jefferson's 
restrictive  policy,  had  not  become  so  expanded  as  to  make  a 
large  feast  for  the  British  lion.  The  limits  prescribed  to  this 
work  will  not  permit  our  writing  our  naval  history  of  that 
period.  But  it  is  due  to  those  brave  spirits  who  covered  our  navy 
with  glory  and  filled  our  land  with  joy,  to  give  a  brief  account  of 
several  of  them.  We  shall  not  attempt  to  specify  their  opinions 
upon  the  political  questions  which  divided  Congress.  They 
clung  to  their  country,  heroically  performed  their  duty,  and 
hazarded  their  lives  and  honor  in  favor  of  the  cause  upon  which 
the  then  ascendency  of  the  Democratic  party  depended.  They 
fought  like  heroes,  and  history  will  embalm  their  names  with 
those  Democrats  in  whose  hands  the  independence  and  destiny 
of  our  nation  then  rested. 


WILLIAM  BAmBRIDGE.  53 

24.— WILLIAM  BAINBRIDGE. 

Commodore  Bainbridge  was  born  at  Princeton,  New  Jersey, 
in  1774.  Life  on  the  ocean  had  charms  for  him,  and  at  an  early 
age  he  engaged  in  the  merchant  service.  His  energy,  good  char 
acter,  and  abilities,  soon  raised  him  to  a  high  command.  Such 
was  his  reputation  in  1798,  when  our  Government  was  preparing 
to  meet  our  difficulties  with  France,  that  he  was  commissioned  as 
a  lieutenant,  and  appointed  to  the  command  of  the  naval  schoon 
er  Retaliation.  In  1800  he  was  promoted  to  a  captaincy,  and 
placed  in  command  of  the  frigate  George  Washington.  He  was 
soon  ordered  to  the  humiliating  service  of  carrying  tribute  from  our 
Government  to  that  of  Algiers,  and  while  there  was  forced  by  the 
Algerine  authorities  to  convey  presents  to  Constantinople.  In  1 803 
he  sailed  in  the  Philadelphia  for  the  Mediterranean,  and  while  there 
ciptured  a  Moorish  frigate,  and  restored  one  of  our  merchant-vessels. 
This  nipped  Moorish  piracy  in  the  bud.  When  forming  one  of 
fie  blockading  squadron  off  Tripoli  his  vessel  ran  aground,  and 
after  being  nearly  destroyed,  he  surrendered,  and  he  and  his  men 
v/ere  taken  and  kept  in  prison  nineteen  months.  When  the  War 
of  1812  was  declared,  naval  men  and  civilians  were  divided  upon 
the  question  of  laying  up  our  war-vessels,  or  permitting  them  to 
hazard  an  unequal  conflict  with  the  British  navy.  Bainbridge 
and  Stewart  induced  Mr.  Madison,  contrary  to  the  first  views  of 
his  cabinet,  to  trust  our  little  navy  to  Providence  and  good  offi 
cers,  and  allow  it  to  play  its  part  in  the  great  drama  then  being 
performed.  No  true-hearted  American,  however,  regretted  this 
advice  or  determination. 

In  September,  1812,  Bainbridge  was  appointed  to  the  com 
mand  of  a  small  squadron,  the  Constitution  being  his  flag-ship. 
When  off  the  coast  of  St.  Salvador,  Brazil,  while  separated  from. 
his  command,  he  fell  in  with,  the  British  frigate  Java,  and,  after 
an  action  of  one  hour  and  fifty-five  minutes,  captured  her.  The 
Java  lost  174  men,  and  the  Constitution  only  9.  The  Java  had 
not  a  spar  standing,  and  was  incapable  of  being  taken  into  port. 
The  Constitution  was  little  damaged.  The  comparative  destruc 
tion  shows  the  superiority  of  Bainbridge's  gunnery.  Bainbridge 


54:  DEMOCRACY   IN   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

was  severely  wounded,  and  Ms  adversary,  Captain  Lambert,  fatally. 
On  returning  home,  Bainbridge  was  everywhere  received  with 
demonstrations  of  joy.  Congress  voted  him  a  gold  medal,  and  a 
silver  one  to  his  men,  and  $50,000  as  prize-money — the  supposed 
value  of  the  captured  but  sunken  ship.  Subsequently  Bainbridge 
was  employed  in  shore-duty,  in  navy-yards,  and  as  president  of 
the  Board  of  Navy  Commissioners.  He  died  at  Philadelphia  in 
1833.  He  was  a  tall,  muscular,  and  well-proportioned  man,  with  a 
piercing  eye,  an  animated  expression,  and  graceful  and  dignified 
motions.  He  was  an  excellent  disciplinarian,  and  as  an  officer 
he  had  few  superiors. 

25.— CHAKLES   STEWART. 

Stewart  was  born  in  Philadelphia,  in  1778,  and  at  the  age  of 
twenty  entered  the  navy  as  a  lieutenant,  and  first  performed  duty 
under  Commodore  Barry,  on  board  the  frigate  United  States. 
In  1800  he  was  appointed  to  the  command  of  the  schooner  Ex 
periment,  on  the  West  India  station,  to  protect  American  sea 
men,  which  duty  he  performed  to  the  satisfaction  of  all.  He  cap 
tured  several  French  privateers,  and  recaptured  many  of  our 
merchantmen  which  had  been  taken.  He  cooperated  with  De- 
catur  in  the  destruction  of  the  Philadelphia  before  Tripoli.  He 
joined  Bainbridge  in  inducing  our  Government  to  send  our  little 
navy  to  hold  that  of  the  British  in  check,  and  to  cripple  her 
extended  commerce.  In  1813  Stewart,  while  in  command  of  the 
Constitution,  captured  the  British  schooner  Pictou,  and  in  1814 
the  Cyane  and  Levant.  The  latter  was  a  brilliant  contest,  and 
resulted  so  much  to  our  credit  and  their  disadvantage,  that  the 
British  have  never  published  an  account  of  it.  For  these  gallant 
acts  Congress  voted  him  a  gold  medal,  and  Pennsylvania  a  sword, 
and  New  York  and  Philadelphia  bestowed  civic  honors.  Wher 
ever  men  collected,  his  laudation  was  sure  to  follow. 

In  1814  Commodore  Stewart  took  command  of  the  Mediterra 
nean  squadron,  the  Franklin  being  his  flag-ship.  He  left  the  station 
in  1820,  and  in  1821  hoisted  his  flag  on  the  same  ship  in  the 
Pacific,  where  he  served  three  years.  Subsequently  he  was  one 
of  the  Board  of  Navy  Commissioners,  in  which  capacity  he  served 


STEPHEN   DECATUK.  55 

th:*ee  years.  lie  afterward  had  command  of  the  Home  squadron, 
and  of  the  Philadelphia  N-avy  Yard.  In  1857  he  was  placed  on 
the  retired  list,  and  then  restored  to  active  service  under  a  special 
act  of  Congress,  but  subsequently  retired  at  his  own  request,  since 
w'rich  he  has  resided  on  his  estate  at  Bordcntown,  New  Jersey,  lie 
is  the  senior  officer  in  the  navy ;  and  in  his  old  age,  as  well  as  in 
active  life,  commands  the  esteem  and  respect  of  all  who  know 
him. 

26.-STEPHEX  DECATUR. 

Stephen  Decatur  was  born  on  the  Eastern  Shore  of  Maryland, 
in  1779,  and  entered  the  navy  as  a  midshipman  in  1798,  and 
sailed  to  the  Mediterranean  in  1801,  in  the  Essex,  under  Commo 
dore  Dale,  as  first  lieutenant.  At  Malta  he  was  insulted  by  a 
British  officer.  They  fought,  and  the  latter  was  killed.  He  af- 
tarward  sailed  in  command  of  the  Argus  to  Tripoli,  and  on  his 
arrival  was  placed  in  command  of  the  schooner  Enterprise,  and 
in  a  few  minutes  after  captured  a  Tripolitan  ketch  in  sight  of  the 
town.  He  soon  conceived  and  executed  the  daring  enterprise 
of  capturing  and  destroying  the  frigate  Philadelphia,  then 
in  the  harbor,  which  was  accomplished  by  aid  of  daring  spirits, 
and  among  them  Midshipman  Charles  Morris.  At  the  attack  upon 
Tripoli,  Decatur  had  command  of  one  division  of  the  gunboats, 
where  he  won  the  admiration  of  the  nation  by  his  intrepidity. 
During  the  fight  he  was  informed  that  his  brother,  who  had  cap 
tured  one  of  the  enemy's  boats,  had  been  treacherously  slain  by 
its  commander.  In  an  instant  he  hastened  to  overtake  the  assas 
sins  and  avenge  his  brother's  death.  With  no  boat  but  his  own, 
he  pursued  him  beyond  the  line  of  the  enemy,  laid  his  boat  along 
side  and  threw  himself,  with  eleven  Americans,  all  he  had  left, 
on  board  the  enemy's  boat.  The  fight  on  deck  lasted  twenty 
minutes,  and  but  four  men  remained  unwounded.  Decatur  now 
singled  out  the  commander  for  his  special  vengeance.  His  antag 
onist  was  armed  with  an  espontoon,  the  head  of  which  he  sought 
to  cut  off,  but  his  cutlass  broke  at  the  hilt,  and  he  received  a 
wound  on  his  right  arm  and  breast.  They  closed,  and  in  the 
struggle  both  fell.  The  Turk  endeavored  to  stab  him  with  a  dag- 


56  DEMOCRACY   IN   THE   UNITED    STATES. 

ger.  Decatur  seized  his  arm  and  with  his  right  arm  brought  a 
pistol  in  his  pocket  to  bear  upon  him,  firing  through  his  vest,  and 
killing  him  instantly.  During  this  contest,  a  Tripolitan  behind 
Decatur  aimed  a  blow  with  a  sabre  at  his  head,  which  was  ren 
dered  ineffectual  by  an  American  sailor  stepping  between  them 
and  receiving  the  blow.  For  this  act  of  heroic  devotion  to  his 
commander,  which  nearly  cost  him  his  life,  the  generous  sailor 
was  rewarded  by  the  Government.  The  name  of  Decatur  was 
upon  every  tongue,  and  his  heroism  rendered  him  the  favorite  of 
his  countrymen. 

In  1812  he  captured  the  British  frigate  Macedonian,  inflicting 
great  loss  upon  her,  with  little  on  his  own,  the  United  States. 
His  reception,  on  bringing  his  prize  into  New  York,  was  of  a 
most  magnificent  character. 

His  fight  with  the  Endymion,  with  the  President  also,  won 
eclat.  When  in  1815  the  Algerines  were  induced  by  the  British 
to  demand  tribute,  Decatur  was  sent  to  require  the  restoration 
of  prisoners  and  all  property  taken  from  Americans.  He  de 
manded  a  treaty  in  terms  which  he  dictated ;  it  was  soon  agreed 
to  and  signed. 

He  was,  soon  after  his  return,  appointed  a  navy  commis 
sioner.  A  difficulty  between  Decatur  and  Barren  resulted  in  a 
duel,  in  1820,  at  Bladensburg,  in  which  he  was  killed,  and  the 
latter  badly  wounded.  He  thus  fell  a  victim  to  a  barbarous  code, 
which  is  now  happily  nearly  extinct  in  the  United  States.  No 
naval  officer  stood  higher  than  Decatur,  nor  was  the  death  of  one 
more  sincerely  mourned.  In  boldness,  energy,  and  fertility  of  ex 
pedients  calculated  to  lead  to  success,  no  one  could  excel  him. 
He  was  mild,  gentlemanly,  and  most  agreeable  in  his  manners  and 
intercourse,  and  popular  almost  beyond  measure.  He  did  much 
to  build  up  and  establish  a  high  character  for  our  navy. 

27.— ISAAC  HULL. 

Commodore  Hull  was  born  in  Connecticut,  in  1775,  and  died 
at  Philadelphia  in  1843.  Hull  commenced  his  career  on  the 
ocean  in  the  merchant  service.  Our  difficulties  with  France,  in 
1798,  induced  our  Government  to  seek  officers  for  the  navy  in  the 


OLIVER    IIAZAED    PEKEY.  57 

commercial  marine.  Fortunately,  Hull  was  selected  and  commis 
sioned  as  a  lieutenant.  Young  Hull  performed  a  gallant  feat  in 
cutting  out  a  letter  of  marque  at  Porto  Plata,  St.  Domingo,  under 
circumstances  of  great  peril.  At  the  beginning  of  the  War  of 
1812  he  was  placed  in  command  of  the  Constitution,  having  been 
promoted  to  a  captaincy.  When  off  New  York,  he  fell  in  with  a 
British  squadron  of  five  frigates.  In  seeking  to  escape,  the  wind 
was  baffling,  and  he  could  not  move.  He  resorted  to  the  expedient 
of  taking  his  spare  rope,  fastening  it  to  a  kedge,  placing  it  in 
boats  and  rowing  away  a  mi]e,  and  then  dropping  the  anchor, 
diew  his  ship  to  the  kedge  without  the  cause  of  his  motion  being 
observed.  He  thus  got  away  from  his  pursuers.  This  was  a  re 
markable  escape. 

His  fight  with  the  British  frigate  Guerriere,  mostly  at  half- 
pistol-shot  distance,  was  one  of  a  most  masterly  character.  The 
Constitution  made  a  perfect  wreck  of  her  and  she  was  set  on  fire, 
i  This  Avas  the  first  naval  action  of  the  war,  and  produced  a  most 
thrilling  effect  throughout  the  Union.  Hall  took  his  prisoners  to 
Boston,  where  he  was  enthusiastically  received.  Congress  voted 
him  a  gold  medal,  and  silver  ones  to  the  officers  under  him.  After 
tlio  war  he  had  command  of  the  Navy  Yards  at  Charlestown  and 
'Washington  and  also  took  charge  of  a  squadron  in  the  Mediter 
ranean,  and  also  in  the  Pacific.  Commodore  Hull  was  a  brave 
and  skilful  officer,  and  contributed  largely  to  building  up  our 
r.avy  and  giving  it  a  character  for  invincibility. 

28.— OLIVER  HAZARD  PERRY. 

Commodore  Perry  was  born  at  Newport,  Rhode  Island,  in 
1785,  and  entered  the  navy  as  a  midshipman  in  1799.  He  died 
at  the  Island  of  Trinidad  in  1819.  His  first  service  was  on  the 
frigate  General  Greene,  under  the  command  of  his  father.  In 
1802  he  served  on  the  John  Adams,  in  the  Mediterranean.  In 
1807  he  was  commissioned  lieutenant,  and  in  1809  commanded 
the  schooner  Revenge.  At  the  commencement  of  the  war  of 
1812,  he  commanded  a  division  of  gunboats  at  Newport,  R.  I. 
At  his  own  request,  he  was  subsequently  transferred,  with  some 
of  his  officers  and  men,  to  the  lakes,  under  Chaunccy,  to  super- 
3* 


58  DEMOCRACY   IN   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

intend  the  construction  -and  equipment  of  a  fleet  on  Late  Erie. 
At  the  head  of  a  body  of  seamen,  he  assisted  at  the  attack  on 
Fort  Erie.  In  1813,  when  the  vessels  watching  him  were  tem 
porarily  absent,  he  got  his  little  fleet  out  of  Erie,  and  sailed  up 
the  lake  to  Put-in  Bay.  On  the  10th  of  September,  1813,  he 
brought  on  an  engagement  with  the  British  squadron,  which  re 
sulted  in  its  capture.  During  the  battle,  his  flag-ship,  the  Law 
rence,  became  disabled,  and  he  proceeded  to  the  Niagara,  with 
some  of  his  men,  in  an  open  boat,  which  was  under  a  heavy  fire 
during  her  passage.  After  an  obstinate,  bloody,  and  destructive 
fight,  the  British  fleet  surrendered.  Perry's  dispatch  announcing 
his  victory  stands  unparalleled  for  pith  and  brevity.  It  ran  thus : 
"We  have  met  the  enemy,  and  they  are  ours."  The  news  of  this 
victory  spread  over  the  land,  as  if  upon  the  wings  of  the  wind, 
and  produced  a  thrill  of  joy.  It  destroyed  the  British  power  on 
that  lake.  He  afterward  assisted  Harrison  in  regaining  Detroit. 
Congress  voted  him  a  gold  medal-,  and  he  was  made  captain.  The 
next  year  he  was  appointed  to  the  command  of  the  new  frigate 
Java,  which  was  so  hemmed  in  by  the  enemy,  he  could  not  get 
to  sea,  but  after  the  war  he  proceeded  in  her  to  the  Mediter 
ranean.  While  in  command  of  a  squadron  on  the  coast  of  Co 
lombia,  he  ascended  the  Orinoco  in  one  of  his  small  vessels  to 
the  capital  of  Venezuela.  On  returning,  he  was  seized  with  the 
yellow  fever,  and  died  on  board  the  schooner  Nonesuch.  Per 
ry's  victory  tended  much  to  revive  the  halting  energies  of  the 
country,  and  aroused  the  people  to  unwonted  action.  The  people 
began  to  believe,  that  on  the  water  our  naval  officers  were  a 
match  for  the  best  in  the  world.  All  hands  took  fresh  courage. 
The  -exploit  of  Perry  contributed  largely  to  our  final  success.  His 
name  stands  hiovh.  On  our  list  of  naval  heroes. 

O 

29.— JOHN  RODGERS. 

Commodore  Rodgcrs  was  born  in  Maryland  in  1771,  and  en 
tered  the  navy  in  1798  as  a  lieutenant,  and  sailed  the  next  year 
in  the  Constellation  under  Commodore  Truxton.  His  skilful  and 
energetic  management  of  the  French  prize  L'lnsurgente  caused 
him  to  be  made  captain  in  the  same  year.  In  1802,  he  com- 


THOMAS    MACDONOUGH.  59 

mandcd  the  John  Adams  in  the  Tripolitan  War,  and  during  the 
next  assisted  in  taking  an- enemy  cruiser  in  the  bay.  He  con 
tinued  to  be  employed  in  that  service  until  the  end  of  the  war, 
and  then  proceeded  to  Tunis,  where  he  accomplished  his  object 
by  negotiation.  In  1811,  while  in  command  of  the  President, 
ho  fought  and  nearly  destroyed  the  British  ship  Little  Belt,  whose 
commander,  when  hailed,  instead  of  giving  the  name  of  his  ship, 
fired  a  shot.  Within  an  hour  after  hearing  of  the  declaration  of 
war,  Commodore  Roclgers,  with  his  flag  flying  at  the  head  of  the 
President,  sailed  from  New  York  with  his  squadron,  and  in  a 
cruise  of  seventy  days,  which  followed,  he  captured  seven  mer 
chantmen,  and  recaptured  one  American  vessel.  In  other  cruises 
le  captured  the  Highflyer,  and  the  Swallow,  having  on  board  a 
large  quantity  of  specie.  Toward  the  close  of  the  war  he  was 
appointed  to  the  command  of  the  Guerriere,  and  had  the  defence 
of  Baltimore.  For  nine  years  after  the  close  of  the  war  he  was 
President  of  the  Board  of  Navy  Commissioners,  and  from  1824 
to  1827  he  commanded  the  Mediterranean  fleet.  After  his  return, 
until  his  declining  health  required  him  to  relinquish  it,  he  was 
again  on  the  Board  of  Navy  Commissioners.  At  his  death,  he 
was  the  senior  officer  of  the  navy.  The  services  of  the  commo 
dore  were  not  only  creditable  to  himself,  but  useful  and  honorable 
to  his  country.  His  reputation  never  suffered  a  stain.  A  son 
bearing  his  name,  and  now  high  in  rank  in  the  navy,  performed 
gallant  and  most  useful  services  during  the  late  war,  doing  honor 
to  the  name. 

30.— THOMAS  MACDOXOUGH. 

Commodore  Macdonough  was  born  at  Newcastle,  Delaware, 
in  1783,  and  died  in  1815  at  sea.  He  entered  the  navy  as  a  mid 
shipman  in  1800,  and  was  attached  to  the  frigate  Philadelphia  un 
der  Bainbridge,  in  Commodore  Treble's  squadron.  He  escaped 
being  imprisoned  when  the  Philadelphia  was  taken,  with  Bain- 
bridge  and  his  men,  in  consequence  of  being  in  charge  of  a 
prize  she  had  made.  lie  was  with  Decatur  in  some  of  his  won 
derful  enterprises  before  Tripoli,  and  assisted  in  the  recapture 
and  destruction  of  the  Philadelphia.  He  was  promoted  to  a 


60  DEMOCRACY   IN   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

lieutenancy  in  1807,  and  to  master-commandant  in  1813.  In 
1814  lie  took  command  of  our  fleet  on  Lake  Champlain,  and  on 
the  llth  of  September  fought  the  ever-memorable  battle  of  Lake 
Champlain,  where  he  won  for  himself  a  reputation  as  brilliant  as 
the  result  was  advantageous  to  the  country.  He  fought  and  con 
quered  an  able  and  experienced  British  officer  in  whom  his  gov 
ernment  explicitly  confided.  He  captured  the  whole  British 
fleet,  with  slight  exceptions,  of  some  unimportant  boats.  He 
was  immediately  made  a  captain.  Civic  honors  were  showered 
upon  him  in  various  quarters.  Congress  gave  him  a  gold  medal, 
Vermont  two  hundred  acres  of  land,  which  overlooked  the  scene 
of  his  engagement,  and  New  York  a  thousand. 

His  character  for  cool  firmness  was  remarkably  illustrated 
when  he  was  lieutenant  of  the  Siren  at  Gibraltar.  A  British 
boat  had  taken,  from  a  merchant-vessel  lying  near  by,  an  Ameri 
can  seaman.  In  the  absence  of  the  captain,  Macdonough  manned 
a  boat  and  pursued  and  by  force  took  the  impressed  man  on 
board  his  vessel.  The  captain  of  the  British  vessel  came  in  a 
furious  mood,  and  demanded  of  Macdonough  how  he  dared  to 
take  the  man.  Macdonough  replied  that  he  was  an  American 
seaman  and  entitled  to  his  protection.  The  captain  threatened  to 
lay  his  ship  alongside  and  sink  the  Siren.  Macdonough  said :  "  This 
you  may  do,  but  while  she  swims  the  man  you  will  not  have." 
The  captain  then  said :  "  If  I  had  been  aboard  the  boat,  would 
you  have  dared  to  commit  such  an  act  ? "  "I  should  have  made 
the  attempt,  sir,  at  all  hazards."  "  What,  sir,  would  you  attempt 
to  interfere  if  I  were  to  impress  men  from  that  brig  ? "  "  You 
have  only  to  try,  sir."  The  English  officer  returned  to  his  ship, 
manned  a  boat,  rowed  around,  and  returned,  without  making  the 
attempt.  This  showed  Macdonough  to  be  true  grit.  His  praises 
have  been  sung  in  songs  that  roused  men  to  action,  and  his  name 
has  passed  into  history,  filling  a  bright  page. 

31.— JAMES  LAWREXCE. 

Lawrence  was  born  in  1781,  in  New  Jersey,  and  died  in  1813 
of  wounds  received  in  the  fight  between  the  Chesapeake  and 
British  frigate  Shannon.  He  entered  the  navy  in  1798  as  a 


DAYID    POKTEE.  61 

midshipman,  and  was  commissioned  lieutenant  in  1802.  He,  like 
many  other  young  American  officers,  acquired  experience  and 
distinction  in  the  war  with  Tripoli.  He  was  one  of  those  who 
boarded  and  destroyed  the  frigate  President,  one  of  the  most 
gallant  achievements  in  our  naval  history.  For  his  share  in  it, 
Congress  voted  him  money,  which  he  declined  to  receive.  He 
was  commissioned  lieutenant  in  1808,  and  master-commandant  in 
T.810.  Soon  after  the  declaration  of  war  in  1812,  he  commanded 
the  Hornet,  one  of  Commodore  Bainbridge's  squadron  sent  to 
cruise  on  the  coast  of  Brazil.  On  this  cruise  he  took  several 
•prizes,  fought  and  took  the  British  sloop-of-war  Peacock,  the 
latter  losing  33  killed  and  wounded,  and  the  former  one  killed 
and  two  wounded.  Congress  recognized  this  gallant  act  by  giv 
ing  him  a  gold  medal.  He  was  soon  commissioned  captain,  and 
took  command  of  the  frigate  Chesapeake,  then  lying  near  Boston, 
and,  with  the  Hornet,  designed  to  cruise  against  the  Greenland 
whale-fishery.  Lawrence  was  a  stranger  to  his  crew,  which  was 
not  in  a  good  state  of  discipline,  and  who  were  complaining,  after 
a  frolic,  of  the  non-payment  of  prize-money.  In  this  condition 
the  Chesapeake  met  the  Shannon  about  thirty  miles  from  Boston, 
where  a  desperate  battle  was  fought.  Captain  Lawrence  was 
mortally  wounded,  and  most  of  his  officers  were  either  killed  or 
disabled  by  wounds,  so  that  the  upper  deck  was  left  without  a 
commissioned  officer.  This  action  was  fought  with  little  space 
between  the  vessels,  and  was  one  of  the  most  bloody  and  destruc 
tive  of  any  during  the  war.  While  being  borne  below  after  his 
mortal  wound,  his  last  order  was,  "  Don't  give  up  the  ship  !  "  *  a 
motto  which  afterward  appeared  on  many  a  banner.  It  has  been 
since  a  household  expression  in  our  country.  Such  men  as 
Lawrence  are  an  honor  to  any  nation. 

32.— DAYID  TORTER. 

Commodore  Porter  was  by  nature  as  well  as  by  profession  a 
sailor.     His  mind  was  adapted  to  his  employment.     He  was  born 

*  These  are  the  words  found  iii  the  history  of  the  times.  We  are  in 
formed,  however,  by  good  authority,  that  they  were  the  words  of  Major 
Benjamin  Russell,  in  his  account  of  the  battle,  published  in  the  Boston 
Centincl.  Nahum  Capon  had  this  fact  from  Major  Russell. 


G2  DEMOCRACY   IN   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

in  Boston,  Mass.,  in  1*780,  and  entered  the  navy  in  1798  as  a  mid 
shipman,  and  first  sailed  in  the  Constellation.  In  1799  he  became 
a  lieutenant.  He  served  on  the  West  India  station,  and  subse 
quently  joined  the  Mediterranean  squadron  sent  against  Tripoli, 
was  captured  with  Bainbridge  in  the  Philadelphia,  and  remained 
a  prisoner  about  nineteen  months.  In  1806  he  was  commissioned 
master-commandant,  and  in  1812  a  captain.  When  war  was  de 
clared  in  1812,  he  was  given  the  command  of  the  Essex,  and  in  a 
limited  cruise  made  many  captures.  Soon  after,  he  captured  the 
war-schooner  Alert.  Subsequently  he  cruised  with  great  success 
in  the  Southern  Atlantic.  He  then  passed  around  Cape  Horn 
and  anchored  at  Valparaiso,  obtaining  necessary  supplies. 

In  his  cruise  in  the  Pacific  he  rendered  important  services  in 
protecting  American  commerce,  and  by  capturing  whaleships  and 
merchantmen.  Some  of  these  he  converted  into  vessels-of-war. 
He  lived  and  supported  himself  and  men  by  his  conquests.  While 
at  Valparaiso  the  Essex  was  blockaded  by  the  British  frigate 
Phoebe.  In  attempting  to  escape,  Porter  fought  one  of  the  most 
extraordinary  and  desperate  battles  on  record,  and,  although  un 
successful,  it  added  to  his  fame.  Subsequently  he  was  one  of  the 
Board  of  Navy  Commissioners.  He  resigned  in  1825,  and  entered 
the  service  of  Mexico  at  a  salary  of  $25,000  per  annum.  Leaving 
that  service  in  1829,  General  Jackson  appointed  him  to  the  mis 
sion  at  Constantinople,  where  he  died  in  1843.  Porter  was  a 
splendid  officer.  His  son,  David,  hojds  a  high  position  in  our 
navy,  having  during  the  recent  war  rendered  a  large  amount  of 
highly  important  services,  particularly  distinguishing  himself  as  a 
willing,  skilful,  and  energetic  officer. 

This  list  might  be  largely  extended.  But  it  is  sufficient 
to  show  the  character  and  standing  of  our  naval  officers  in  the 
AVar  of  1812,  and  the  effect  produced  by  their  valor,  knowledge, 
and  efficiency  upon  the  country  and  its  Government.  They  were 
unselfish  and  generous,  and  regardless  of  personal  consequences. 
With  them,  the  great  and  inspiring  sentiment  was  their  country, 
its  flag,  its  honor,  the  American  Union.  No  hardship  was  too 
great  to  be  borne,  or  danger  too  hazardous  to  encounter.  They 
seemed  to  have  a  magnetism  about  them  that  inspired  their  sub- 


THE   ARMY    AND   ITS    OFFICERS.  G3 

crdinates  and  sailors,  inducing  in  them  the  belief  that  nothing 
v*as  impossible  with  American  naval  officers.  The  achievements 
of  the  navy  electrified  the  country  and  fired  its  energies,  occasion 
ing  almost  superhuman  exertions  in  defence  of  the  nation  and 
its  rights.  The  success  of  our  naval  officers  and  their  unequalled 
efforts  attracted  the  attention  of  Europe,  and  commanded  unquali 
fied  admiration  and  respect.  Although  few  in  numbers,  compared 
with  the  British,  still  that  haughty  and  domineering  power  not 
unwillingly  relinquished  the  contest  where  our  navy  achieved  such 
masterly  results,  which  so  largely  eclipsed  its  glory  on  the  seas. 
The  navy  encouraged  the  army  and  aroused  the  people.  Its  offi 
cers  demonstrated  their  power,  and  that  they  were  actuated  by 
principle — to  protect  and  preserve  our  freedom  and  independence, 
to  secure  individual  protection  for  person,  character,  and  proper 
ty,  to  the  end  that  all  might  pursue  such  road  to  happiness  as 
they  might  choose. 

33.— THE  ARMY  AND  ITS  OFFICERS. 

In  the  navy  a  great  victory  seldom  holds  up  to  public  view 
more  than  one  individual  as  its  author.  The  commander  rules 
his  floating  kingdom  at  his  will,  has  no  divided  authority  or 
honors,  and  all  his  resources  are  with  him.  In  the  army  things 
are  widely  different.  Although  there  is  a  head  man,  his  authority 
is  subdivided,  and  seldom  so  concentrated  as  to  be  within  his  per 
sonal  supervision,  while  the  action  of  the  outside  world  often 
tends  to  confuse  or  cripple.  The  commander's  lines  are  often 
miles  long,  and  his  resources  scattered  and  not  within  reach,  and 
no  drumming  can  bring  them  together.  Subordinates  have  often 
projects  of  personal  fame,  or  others  which  materially  affect  the 
result.  Few  of  all  the  movements  are  under  the  eye  or  personal 
guidance  of  the  head  of  a  battle-field.  Hence  the  result  of  an 
action  is  far  less  under  the  control  of  the  official  head  than  in  the 
navy ;  and  thus  the  comparative  number  of  heroes  prominently 
before  the  eyes  of  the  nation  is  smaller. 

But  the  army  of  1812  had  its  patriots,  its  heroes,  and  self- 
sacrificing  actors,  whether  widely  known  or  not.  Our  space, 
however,  will  allow  us  to  name  but  few,  and  those  briefly.  We 


64  DEMOCRACY   IN   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

give  a  few  simple  facts,  by  way  of  illustration,  without  attempting 
details,  which,  without  a  full  view  of  surrounding  circumstances, 
would  lead  to  probable  error  or  confusion.  A  naval  battle  lies  in 
a  nut-shell,  but  one  in  the  army  covers  a  whole  field  and  all  the 
avenues  approaching  it;  and  any  attempt  to  describe  it,  without 
giving  it  in  full,  seldom  does  justice  to  him  who  commands. 
Hence,  we  do  not  attempt  it. 

34.— ZEBULOX  MONTGOMERY  PIKE. 

This  gallant  officer  was  born  in  New  Jersey,  in  1799,  and  was 
killed  at  Toronto,  in  Canada,  in  1813,  by  the  falling  of  stone 
when  the  British  magazine  exploded.  When  young  he  served 
under  his  father,  who  held  a  commission  in  the  army,  and  rose  to 
a  lieutenancy.  After  the  acquisition  of  Louisiana,  he  was  sent 
with  a  squad  of  men  to  explore  the  sources  of  the  Mississippi; 
and  spent  a  winter,  enduring  great  hardships,  in  what  is  now 
Minnesota.  His  report  was  so  clear  and  satisfactory,  that  soon 
after  he  was  sent  west,  with  a  party,  to  explore  the  central  part 
of  the  Louisiana  purchase.  He  proceeded  up  the  Missouri  in 
boats  for  a  considerable  distance,  and  then  continued  his  journey 
by  land,  reaching  the  headwaters  of  the  Arkansas  River ;  in  the 
winter  the  party  was  nearly  buried  in  snow,  and  suffered  greatly. 
Pike  reached  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  extended  his  enterprise 
to  explore  one  to  its  top,  some  14,500  feet  above  the  sea,  which 
has  since  been  known  as  "  Pike's  Peak,"  and  is  in  Colorado  Ter 
ritory.  On  returning  he  lost  his  way,  and  was  taken  to  Santa 
Fe  and  Chihuahua,  by  the  Spanish  authorities,  and  sent  home  by 
way  of  Texas.  His  report  of  this  expedition  was  highly  compli 
mented. 

Soon  after  the  beginning  of  the  "War  of  1812  he  was  made  a 
brigadier-general,  and  sailed  from  Sackett's  Harbor  to  York,  now 
Toronto,  in  Canada.  The  British  were  vigorously  assaulted,  and 
the  outer  batteries  carried.  While  resting  for  a  moment  before 
attacking  the  main  works,  the  magazine  exploded,  throwing  up 
an  immense  quantity  of  earth  and  stone.  In  their  descent  one 
of  the  latter  fell  upon  and  wounded  him.  He  soon  expired. 
General  Pike  was  one  of  the  bravest  and  most  fearless  of  officers, 


JOHN   E.    WOOL.  65 

and  one  in  whom  the  soldiers,  and  all  under  him,  had  unlimited 
confidence.  His  death,  widely  mourned,  was  a  great  loss  to  our 
limy  and  country. 

35.— ALEXANDER  MACOMB. 

General  Macomb  was  born  in  the  garrison  at  Detroit,  in  1782. 
He  was  the  son  of  a  fur-trader.     He  entered  the  army  as  a  cornet 
of  cavalry  in  1799,   and  was  retained   at  the  partial   disband- 
rnent  in  1802.     The  corps  to  which  he  had  belonged  was  formed 
i  into  one  of  engineers,  and  he  was  sent  to  West  Point,  to  improve 
i  in  the  military  art.     While  there  he  acted  as  judge-advocate  on 
I  the  trial  of  the  venerable  Colonel  Butler,  for  refusing  to   obey 
j  orders,  and  have  his  long  white  locks  cut  off.     This  arbitrary 
1  order  could  not  have  been  carried  into  effect  by  Peter  the  Great 
i   of  Russia.     In  1805  Macomb  was  promoted  to  a  captaincy  in  the 
j  Corps  of  Engineers,  and  commenced  the  discharge  of  his  duties  as 
such.     At  the  commencement  of  the  War  of  1812,  he  had  been 
promoted  to  be  a  lieutenant-colonel  of  engineers,  but  was  soon 
transferred   to  the    artillery.     In  1814  he  was   commissioned  a 
brigadier-general,  and  placed  in  command  on  the  borders  of  Lake 
Champlain.     On  the   llth  of  September,  1814,  he  fought  the 
battle  of  Plattsburg,   against  Sir  George   Provost   and   greatly 
superior  numbers,  and  won  a  great  triumph,  the  British  retreating 
toward   Canada.     The   battle   was   on   the   same   day   as   Mac- 
donough's  victory  over  Commodore  Downie  and  the  British  fleet. 
For  his  generalship  on  this  occasion  he  was  commissioned  a  ma 
jor-general,  receiving  the  thanks  of  Congress,  and  a  gold  medal 
voted  him.     On  the  reduction  of  the  army  he  was  retained  as  a 
colonel  of  engineers,  and  served  in  that  capacity  at  the  head  of 
the  engineer  bureau.     On  the  death  of  General  Brown  in  1828, 
he  was  appointed  general-in-chief  of  the  army,  and  served  until 
his  death  in  1841.     By  his  achievements  General  Macomb  added 
to  his  own  fame  and  to  American  character.     His  death  was 
deeply  deplored  by  the  army  and  country. 

36.— JOHN  E.  WOOL. 

The  name  of  General  Wool  has  long  been  familiar  to  the 
American  people.     He  was  born   at   Newburg,  New  York,  in 


66  DEMOCRACY   IN  THE   UNITED   STATES. 

1789.  He  commenced  business  when  quite  young,  as  a  book- 
merchant  in  Troy,  where  he  now  resides.  His  all  was  destroyed  by 
fire,  and  he  then  commenced  the  study  of  the  law.  But  his  coun 
try  becoming  involved  in  a  war  with  Great  Britain,  he  abandoned 
the  law,  and  accepted  a  captaincy  in  the  army.  He  was  wound 
ed  through  both  thighs  at  the  battle  of  Qiieenstown  Heights,  and 
soon  thereafter  received  a  commission  as  major.  lie  was  in  the 
battles  at  Plattsburg  on  the  6th  and  llth  of  September,  1814. 
For  the  gallantry  displayed  at  Beekmantown  he  was  brevetted  a 
lieutenant-colonel.  His  military  talents  and  high  personal  char 
acter  caused  him  to  be  retained  on  the  reduction  of  the  army  in 
1816.  He  was  then  made  an  inspector-general  of  the  Northern 
Division,  and  subsequently  of  the  whole  army.  In  General  Jack 
son's  administration  he  was  sent  abroad  to  examine  the  military 
systems  of  Europe.  In  1841  he  was  commissioned  a  brigadier- 
general,  and  brevetted  a  major-general  in  1848,  and  full  major- 
general  in  1862.  He  largely  contributed  to  General  Taylor's 
success  in  the  Mexican  War,  which  the  latter  handsomely  ac 
knowledged.  When  in  command  on  the  Pacific,  he  succeeded  in 
repressing  Indian  disturbances.  When  the  late  civil  war  became 
imminent,  he  offered  his  services  to  the  Government,  and  pro 
ceeded  to  New  York  to  organize,  equip,  and  forward  volunteers  to 
Washington — sending  on  the  first  regiments ;  and  rendered  other 
services  during  the  war.  He  is  spending  his  old  age  in  Troy, 
where  he  is  respected  and  beloved  by  all  who  know  him.  Few 
military  men  have  ever  rendered  better  service  to  their  country, 
or  commanded  more  confidence  and  esteem.  He  still  remains 
cheerful  and  active,  and  alive  to  whatever  affects  the  character 
or  interest  of  the  American  people.  He  has  no  love  for  office,  as 
such,  having  declined  Democratic  nominations  for  high  places. 

37.— JACOB  BROWN. 

General  Brown  was  born  in  Pennsylvania,  in  1775,  and  died 
in  1828.  He  was  originally  a  Quaker,  and  from  his  eighteenth 
to  his  twenty-first  year  he  taught  school  in  New  Jersey,  and  for 
the  next  two  years  he  was  employed  in  surveying  public  lands  in 
Ohio.  Subsequently  he  purchased  a  large  tract  of  wild  laud  and 


ANDREW   JACKSON.  67 

settled  in  Jefferson  County,  N.  Y.,  building  the  first  human  habi 
tation  within  thirty  miles  of  Lake  Ontario.  lie  was  appointed  a 
colonel  of  militia  in  1809,  and  a  brigadier-general  in  1810.  At 
the  commencement  of  the  war  he  was  temporarily  employed  to 
defend  the  northern  frontier  from  Oswego  to  St.  Regis,  which  he 
did  with  success,  defeating  the  British  on  the  4th  of  October, 
1812,  in  their  attack  on  Ogdensburg.  At  the  expiration  of  his 
term  he  declined  further  service,  unless  given  a  commission  in  the 
regular  army  equal  to  his  former  rank.  In  the  spring  of  1813  Gen 
eral  Brown,  as  a  volunteer,  took  charge  of  the  army,  and  success 
fully  resisted  the  attack  on  Sackett's  Harbor.  In  the  same  year 
he  was  appointed  a  brigadier,  and  in  1814  a  major-general.  Early 
in  1814  he  took  Fort  Erie,  and  soon  after  fought  with  success  the 
battle  of  Chippewa.  The  battle  of  Magara  was  won  by  him  on 
the  2oth  of  July,  1814,  where,  for  the  first  time,  bayonets  accom 
plished  the  work  which  bullets  began.  At  the  reduction  of  the 
army,  General  Brown  was  retained,  and  in  1821  became  com- 
m  inder-in-chief.  He  was  ft  wise  and  prudent  general,  and  was 
remarkable  for  making  the  most  of  Ms  means.  His  countrymen 
were  proud  of  him  and  his  successes. 

An  order  from  the  War  Department  announcing  his  death, 
drawn  by  General  John  A.  Dix,  then  one  of  his  aides,  pays  a  most 
beautiful  tribute  to  the  services  and  memory  of  the  deceased.  In 
it  is  this  sentence,  "Quick  to  perceive,  sagacious  to  anticipate, 
prompt  to  decide,  and  daring  in  execution,  he  was  born  with  the 
qualities  which  constitute  a  great  commander." 

38.— ANDREW  JACKSON. 

The  name  and  character  of  Andrew  Jackson  are  as  widely 
known  as  any  in  our  history.  Every  hamlet  is  familiar  with  both 
from  Maine  to  the  Pacific.  General  Jackson  is  a  household  word, 
and  in  matters  of  instructive  sagacity,  boldness,  inflexible  firm 
ness,  purity,  patriotism,  honesty,  and  faithfulness  in  friendships, 
his  name  is  with  the  Americans  a  standard  of  comparison.  In 
another  part  of  this  work  we  shall  give  sketches  of  his  adminis 
tration  and  political  principles.  We  here  give  only  a  few  dates 
raid  references  to  his  military  achievements. 


68  DEMOCRACY   IN   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

He  was  born  on  the  15th  of  March,  1769,  at  Waxsaw,  South 
Carolina,  and  died  at  the  Hermitage,  in  Tennessee,  on  the  8th  day 
of  June,  1845.  He  commenced  the  study  of  the  law  in  North 
Carolina  in  1784,  was  admitted  in  1786,  and  removed  to  Nash 
ville,  Tennessee,  and  began  practice  in  1788. 

In  1796  he  was  elected  to  Congress,  and  the  next  year  to  the 
United  States  Senate.  He  soon  resigned,  alleging  as  a  reason  his 
distaste  for  the  intrigues  of  politics.  He  was  chosen  major-gen 
eral  of  the  State  militia,  and  held  that  office  until  called  to  the 
same  rank  in  the  regular  army,  in  1814. 

On  leaving  the  national  Legislature,  he  was  appointed  a  judge 
of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  State,  but  soon  resigned.  He  be 
came  distinguished  in  the  Indian  wars.  He  fought  the  great  battle 
at  New  Orleans  on  the  8th  of  January,  1815.  In  1823  he  was 
elected  to  the  United  States  Senate,  but  he  resigned  before  serv 
ing  out  his  second  session,  because  his  friends  had  made  him  a 
candidate  for  the  presidency.  At  the  election  of  1824  he  had  a 
plurality  of  votes  only,  and  the  House  elected  Mr.  Adams.  In  1828 
he  was  elected  President,  and  in  1832  reflected.  He  retired  from 
office  on  the  4th  of  March,  1837,  proceeded  to  the  Hermit 
age,  where  he  devoted  himself  to  his  private  affairs  until  his 
death. 

If  our  space  would  permit,  we  should  feel  a  proud  gratifica 
tion  in  extending  this  list  of  officers  of  the  army  of  1812.  It 
would  give  us  pleasure  to  review  the  career  of  Jessup,  Lawson, 
and  Gibson,  whose  chivalrous  conduct  won  them  bureaus  in  the 
War  Department,  which  they  filled  through  life  with  high  honor ; 
of  Croghan,  who  became  an  inspector-general.  We  would  be  glad 
to  speak  of  McArthur,  the  younger  Hull,  and  Cass,  who  since  be 
came  so  distinguished  in  civil  life;  of  Harrison,  who  became  Presi 
dent — of  Carroll,  Coffee,  and  Houston,  and  a  host  of  others. 
They  all  proved  by  their  devotion  to  the  public  service,  hazarding 
their  lives  for  their  country,  that  they  had  faith  in  the  principles 
of  Jefferson  and  Madison,  and  those  associated  with  them  in  the 
Government.  Their  acts  showed  them  to  be  supporters  of  true 
Democratic  principles,  whatever  name  politicians  may  have  given 
them.  They  materially  aided  in  securing  to  their  countrymen 


PETEE   B.    POETEE.  CD 

freedom  and  protection,  enabling  them  to  pursue  happiness  in 
their  own  way. 

39.— ELEAZAR  W.  RIPLEY. 

General  Kipley  was  born  in  New  Hampshire,  in  1782,  and 
graduated  at  Dartmouth  College  in  1800.  He  studied  law,  and 
commenced  practice  in  Maine,  then  a  part  of  Massachusetts.  He 
became  a  member  of  the  Massachusetts  Legislature  in  1811,  and 
was  elected  Speaker.  At  the  commencement  of  the  War  of  1812, 
he  received  the  appointment  of  lieutenant-colonel,  and  early  in 
1813,  colonel,  and  in  April,  1814,  brigadier-general.  None  were 
more  distinguished  for  soldierly  qualities.  At  the  battle  of  Chip- 
pcwa  he  took  a  distinguished  part,  and  contributed  largely  to  our 
success.  At  Fort  Erie  he  was  conspicuous  for  his  daring  and  zeal. 
II 3  was  most  distinguished  at  the  battle  of  Niagara,  often  called 
"  Lundy's  Lane."  Much  of  the  hard  fighting  fell  upon  him  and 
those  under  him,  neither  of  whom  flinched  when  bayonets  were 
crossed.  In  this  action  he  was  severely  wounded  in  the  neck, 
greatly  affecting  the  muscles.  He  was  bre vetted  a  major-general 
arid  furnished  with  a  gold  medal  by  Congress.  At  the  reduction 
of  the  army  in  1816  he  was  retained,  but  in  1820  voluntarily  re 
signed,  and  removed  to  Louisiana,  where  he  continued  to  reside 
until  his  death  in  1839.  For  the  last  four  years  of  his  life  he 
represented  one  of  the  Louisiana  districts  in  Congress.  A  few 
years  before  his  death  his  old  wound  in  the  neck  seriously  affected 
him,  so  much  so,  that  he  could  not  prevent  a  constant  motion  of 
his  head.  Without  an  application  from,  him,  but  merely  from 
what  every  member  daily  saw,  Congress,  on  the  4th  of  July,  1836, 
unanimously  voted  him  a  pension  of  $30  per  month,  commencing 
in  1820,  when  he  left  the  army,  and  to  continue  during  life.  This 
vote  was  alike  honorable  to  him  and  to  Congress.  It  was  well 
deserved  by  a  noble  soldier  and  devoted  patriot. 

40.— PETER  B.  PORTER. 

General  Porter  was  a  native  of  Connecticut,  born  in  1773,  and 
graduated  at  Yale  College  at  the  age  of  twenty.  Having  studied 
law  at  the  Litchfield  law  school,  he  settled  and  began  practice  at 


70  DEMOCRACY   IN   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

Canandaigua,  New  York,  in  1795,  when  that  was  a  new  county. 
He  was  elected  to  Congress  in  1808,  and  in  December,  1811, 
made  a  report  recommending  a  declaration  of  war.  He  continued 
in  Congress  from  1809  to  1813,  and  was  elected  and  again  served 
from  1815  to  1816.  After  the  declaration  of  war,  he  left  Con 
gress,  and,  declining  a  commission  in  the  regular  army,  he  ac 
cepted,  under  the  authority  of  New  York,  a  commission  as  quar 
termaster-general,  and  used  every  effort  to  arouse  the  military 
spirit  of  the  people.  Having  removed  to  Black  Rock,  the  British 
made  an  unsuccessful  attempt  to  seize  him  in  his  own  house.  He 
manifested  true  military  valor  on  several  occasions.  He  person 
ally  led  the  brilliant  sortie  at  Fort  Erie,  and  performed  gallant 
services  at  Chippewa.  At  Lundy's  Lane,  Niagara,  he  led  the  vol 
unteers,  and  performed  most  efficient  services.  Congress  voted 
him  a  gold  medal,  and  the  State  of  New  York  a  sword.  He  was 
one  of  the  early  projectors  of  the  Erie  Canal.  In  1816  he  was  ap 
pointed  a  commissioner  for  determining  the  boundary  between  the 
United  States  and  British  possessions.  He  was  chosen  Secretary  of 
State  of  New  York  soon  after  the  war,  and  appointed  Secretary  of 
War  by  Mr.  Adams  in  1828,  and  served  to  the  end  of  Mr.  Adams's 
term.  He  soon  after  removed  to  Niagara  Falls,  where  he  died  in 
1844.  General  Porter  did  much  to  sustain  the  Government  during 
the  War  of  1812.  As  a  military  man,  although  his  experience  was 
short,  he  showed  that  he  had  not  only  the  will,  but  the  capacity  and 
courage,  to  defend  his  country. 

41.— WILLIAM  J.  WORTH. 

General  Worth  was  born  at  Hudson,  New  York,  in  1794. 
Having  an  ordinary  education,  he  became  a  merchant's  clerk,  but 
when  the  War  of  1812  commenced  he  enlisted  as  a  private  sol 
dier.  The  next  year  he  was  appointed  a  lieutenant,  and  became 
aide-de-camp  of  General  Lewis,  and,  in  1814,  of  General  Scott. 
He  was  brevetted  a  captain  for  his  conduct  at  the  battle  of  Chip 
pewa,  and  made  a  brevet-major  for  his  gallantry  at  Luudy's  Lane, 
where  he  was  severely  wounded.  On  the  reduction  of  the  army, 
he  was  made  a  captain  in  the  regular  army,  and  from  1820  to 
1828  he  was  commandant  at  West  Point,  and  instructor  in  infan- 


ANTI-DEMOCRATIC  PRINCIPLES  DURING-  THE  WAR  OF  1812.    71 

try  tactics.  He  was  created  a  major  of  ordnance  in  1832,  and 
appointed  colonel  of  infantry  in  1838.  He  served  in  the  Florida 
Indian  War,  and  fought  under  Generals  Taylor  and  Scott  in  the 
wfr  with  Mexico.  Congress,  and  the  States  of  New  York  and 

o  7 

Louisiana,  presented  him  with  swords.  He  was  in  command  in 
Texas,  where  he  died  in  1849.  As  a  man  and  a  soldier,  Worth 
was  an  honor  to  his  birthplace,  and  to  the  country.  He  was  a 
consistent  Democrat. 

42.— THE  PRINCIPLES  AND  INTENTIONS  OF  THE  ANTI-DEMO 
CRATS  DURING  THE  WAR  OF  1812. 

WTe  Lave  presented  sketches  of  the  actions  of  the  Democratic 
party  and  its  friends  during  the  war,  and  shown  how  readily 
multitudes  hazarded  their  lives  to  sustain  their  principles  and  the 
country  in  conflict  with  the  vaunted  strength  of  Great  Britain. 
We  have  shown  how  all  these  things  tended  to  the  freedom  and 
protection  of  the  people  individually.  We  now,  revolting  as  it 
n:  ay  be,  will  present  brief  views  of  the  principles,  intentions,  acts, 
and  feeling  of  the  other  side,  and  leave  our  readers  to  determine, 
like  an  honest  and  intelligent  jury,  which  side  they  believe  was 
right,  and  whither  the  principles  of  each  will  eventually  lead  our 
people. 

The  great  object  of  the  Federal  party  was  to  regain  power 
and  govern  the  country,  their  theory  being  that  the  people  were 
best  off  when  governed  by  a  class  deemed  competent  for  that 
purpose,  instead  of  simply  being  protected  in  their  persons  and 
property,  and  allowed,  as  to  all  other  matters,  to  govern  them 
selves.  France  and  England  were  at  war.  The  former  had  sub- 

O 

stantially  given  us  Louisiana,  to  them  a  dreaded  gift,  and  had 
ceased  to  annoy  us  in  her  struggles  with  her  enemies.  Hence,  it 
was  natural  that  they  should  denounce  her.  British  institutions 
had  always  charms  for  the  Federalists.  The  great  leader  of  that 
party  had  sought  to  incorporate  them  largely  in  our  Constitution. 
England  possessed  great  regard  and  friendship  for  all  places  where 
Federalism  was  triumphant,  and  sent  her  agents  among  the  peo 
ple  to  advise  and  comfort  them.  Beyond  all,  she  was  the  unfor 
giving  and  powerful  enemy  of  the  Democratic  party  and  its  prin- 


72  DEMOCEACY   IN   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

ciples — for  these  had  stripped  her  of  her  thirteen  colonies. 
England  alone  could  unseat  the.  Democrats  from  power,  and 
cripple  and  crush  them  to  the  earth — things  that  must  be  done 
before  the  Federalists  could  return  to  power.  Under  these  cir 
cumstances,  nothing  could  be  more  natural  than  that  they  should 
take  sides  with  England,  and  they  did  so  with  a  will  and  spirit 
worthy  of  a  good  cause.  Their  first  and  all-important  step  was  to 
weaken  and  cripple  the  national  Government — prevent  enlistments 
and  loans  of  money,  and  cause  all  its  acts  to  be  considered  un 
wise,  oppressive,  and  odious.  Even  our  triumphs  by  sea  and  land 
were  either  denounced  or  groaned  over  and  treated  as  sinful, 
Every  thing  tended  to  one  point — to  crush  our  country,  to  the 
end  that  the  Democratic  administration  might  be  tumbled  to 
the  earth,  and  its  adversaries  again  installed  in  power.  These 
things  were  heard  in  Congress,  State  legislative  halls,  in  pub 
lic  meetings  and  corners  of  the  streets,  and  read  in  their  papers. 
Great  Britain  thought  she  had  little  to  fear  from  us  when  so  large 
a  portion  of  our  people  and  the  talent  and  wealth  of  New  Eng 
land  were  with  her.  Her  maxim  was,  that  a  house  divided 
against  itself  could  not  stand.  She  had  all  the  evidence  she 
needed  in  the  public  course  of  the  Federal  party,  and  all  she  even 
desired,  in  the  secret  machinations  of  that  party,  in  which  her 
agents  had  participated.  We  will  give  instances  of  sayings  and 
acts  which  will  illustrate  and  confirm  what  we  say : 

In  January,  1813,  a  bill  was  before  Congress  to  raise  twenty 
thousand  men,  to  be  added  to  the  army,  when  Mr.  Quincy,  of 
Massachusetts,  said  in  the  House  : 

"1  desire,  therefore,  that  it  may  be  distinctly  understood,  both 
by  this  House  and  the  nation,  that  it  is  my  unequivocal  belief, 
that  the  invasion  of  Canada,  which  is  avowed  by  the  Cabinet  to 
be  its  purpose,  is  intended  by  it,  that  continuance  of  the  war  and 
not  peace,  is  the  object.  ...  I  say,  then,  sir,  that  I  consider  the 
invasion  of  Canada,  as  a  means  of  carrying  on  this  war,  as  cruel, 
wanton,  senseless,  and  wicked.  .  .  .  Never  was  there  invasion  of  any 
country  worse  than  this,  in  point  of  moral  principle,  since  the  in 
vasion  of  the  West  Indies  by  the  buccaneers,  or  of  the  United 
States  by  Captain  Kidd.  Indeed,  both  Kidd  and  the  buccaneers 


ANTI-DEMOCEATIC  PRINCIPLES  DUKING  THE  WAE  OF  1812.   73 

had  more  apology  for  their  deeds  than  the  American  Cabinet.  .  .  . 
When  in  the  usual  course  of  Divine  Providence,  who  punishes 
nations  as  well  as  individuals,  His  destroying  angel  shall  on  this 
account  pass  over  this  country,  and  sooner  or  later,  pass  it  will,  I 
may  be  permitted  to  hope  that  over  New  England  his  hand  will 
be  stayed.  Our  souls  are  not  steeped  in  the  blood  which  has  been 
shed  in  this  war.  The  spirits  of  the  unhappy  men  who  have  been 
sent  to  an  untimely  audit  have  borne  to  the  bar  of  Divine  Justice 
no  accusations  against  us." 

Tallmadge,  of  Connecticut,  said :  "  When  he  reflected  upon 
those  solemn  and  awful  events,  he  could  not  but  weep  for  his  in 
faiuated  country." 

Wheaton,  of  Massachusetts,  said  that  "  his  soul  sickened  at 
th 3  thought  of  progressing  in  this  war." 

Gardiner,  a  Boston  clergyman,  said  :  "  Let  no  considerations 
whatever,  my  brethren,  deter  you  at  all  times,  and  in  all  places, 
from  execrating  the  present  war.  As  Mr.  Madison  has  declared 
war,  let  Mr.  Madison  carry  it  on.  The  Union  has  long  since  been 
virtually  dissolved,  and  it  is  full  time  that  this  part  of  the  United 
Slates  should  take  care  of  itself." 

In  the  Senate  of  Massachusetts,  of  which  Josiah  Quincy  had 
become  a  member,  he  offered  the  following  resolution,  which  was 
adopted: 

"  Resolved,  as  the  sense  of  the  Senate  of  Massachusetts,  that, 
ii\  a  war  like  the  present,  waged  without  justifiable  cause,  and 
prosecuted  in  a  manner  which  indicates  that  conquest  and  am 
bition  are  its  real  motives,  it  is  not  becoming  a  moral  and  religious 
people  to  express  any  approbation  of  military  or  naval  exploits, 
which  are  not  immediately  connected  with  the  defence  of  our  sea- 
coast  and  soil." 

The  Legislature  of  Massachusetts,  in  July,  1813,  adopted  a 
remonstrance,  denouncing  the  war  as  unjust,  because  the  Govern 
ment  had  not  removed  the  causes  of  British  complaint  by  guard 
ing  against  the  employment  of  her  seamen,  in  which  it  was  averred, 
"  Under  such  circumstances,  silence  toward  the  Government  would 
be  treachery  to  the  people." 

Mr.  Lowell,  of  Massachusetts,  in  a  pamphlet  entitled  the  "  Road 
4 


74  DEMOCRACY   IN   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

to  Ruin,"  said,  "  Encouraged  and  protected  from  Infamy  by  the 
just  odium  against  the  war,  they  engage  in  lawless  speculations, 
sneer  at  the  restraints  of  conscience,  laugh,  at  perjury,  mock  at 
legal  magistrates,  and  acquire  ill-gotten  wealth  at  the  expense  of 
public  morals,  and  of  the  more  sober,  conscientious  parts  of  the 
community.  .  .  .  Administration  hirelings  may  revile  the  North 
ern  States,  and  the  merchants  generally,  for  this  monstrous  depra 
vation  of  morals,  this  execrable  course  of  smuggling  and  fraud 
But  there  is  a  just  God,  who  knows  how  to  trace  the  causes  of 
human  events,  and  He  will  assuredly  visit  upon  the  authors  of  this 
war  all  the  iniquities  of  which  it  has  been  the  occasion." 

Many  more  such  citations  might  be  added. 

Curtis  Coe,  imprisoned  at  Three  Rivers,  in  Canada,  as  a  spy, 
was  discharged  on  the  ground  that  he  was  no  enemy  to  the  Brit 
ish  Government,  and  had  been  uniformly  a  "stanch  Federalist." 

American  vessels  were  captured  carrying  British  permits  to 
sail  and  trade,  and  a  British  judge  officially  declared,  that  their 
object  was  to  benefit  their  military  service — to  furnish  subsistence 
for  her  armies  in  Spain. 

The  British  declared  all  our  coast  from  the  Mississippi  to  the 
north  end  of  Long  Island  to  be  in  a  state  of  blockade,  leaving  New 
England  open. 

The  Executives  of  Connecticut  and  Massachusetts  refused  to 
place  their  militia  when  called  into  service  under  the  command  of 
the  President,  as  required  by  the  Constitution.  Governor  Chit- 
tenden,  of  Vermont,  ordered  the  militia  from  his  State,  who  had 
gone  to  Canada,  to  return. 

Massachusetts'  claim  for  services  in  the  war  was  not  allowed 
by  Congress  till  more  than  fifty  years  afterward. 

Here  we  have  merely  glimpses  of  the  motives,  intentions,  and 
acts  of  the  Federalists  during  the  war.  Old  England  and  New 
England  treated  each  other  as  friends  devoted  to  the  same  inter 
ests.  Our  laws  could  not  be  executed,  nor  their  mfringers  be  pun 
ished  in  those  States  which  were  under  Federal  control.  Those 
arrested  as  spies  were  discharged  on  proof  of  being  Federalists. 
New  England  vessels  were  furnished  with  British  permits  to  trade 
at  certain  places  under  British  control.  Federalism  had  but  one 


DANIEL    D.    TOMPKINS.  75 

more  step  to  take  to  arrive-at  treason,  under  the  Constitution,  and 
that  was  an  easy  and  natural  one — to  act  out  what  they  felt,  in 
favor  of  Great  Britain  and  against  their  own  country.  If  the 
Federalists  of  New  England  had  succeeded  in  carrying  out  what 
they  felt,  and  often  manifested,  Great  Britain  would  have  over 
come  us  during  the  war,  and  we  should  have  been  a  mere  append 
age  of  that  power,  or  been  a  weak  nation  by  her  permission. 

43.— DANIEL  D.  TOMPKIXS. 

The  war  of  1812  developed  men  equal  to  the  occasion.  Mili 
tary  and  naval  stars  arose  as  the  exigencies  of  the  country  de 
manded  them.  Civilians  of  great  intellect  and  power  presented 
themselves,  and  orators  came  forth  to  arouse  the  energies  of  the 
people  and  cheer  them  on  in  patriotic  duty.  The  enemy  knew 
the  strong  and  weak  points  in  the  country,  and  how  the  pulse  of 
man  beat.  He  must  strike  his  blows  where  they  would  best  pro 
duce  the  desired  consequences,  without  needlessly  wasting  his 
strength  or  damaging  his  friends.  The  climate  of  New  Orleans 
was  long  its  protector.  The  growing  West  had  little  wealth  to 
plunder  or  destroy,  while  it  had  strong  arms,  noble  hearts,  and 
stubborn  will  to  protect  itself.  Distances  and  the  condition  of  the 
roads  were  unfavorable.  The  South  presented  no  point  where 
aggressors  would  not  soon  be  driven  into  the  sea.  New  England 
^as  filled  with  friends  who  must  not  be  injured  or  annoyed,  but 
encouraged  into  resisting  its  own  Government. 

New  York  presented  the  assailable  points.  She  had  a  long 
sea-coast  and  a  lake  frontier  of  several  hundred  miles,  and  water 
ways  for  most  of  the  distance  between  Canada  and  her  great 
city,  all  of  which  were  well-known  old  battle-grounds.  New  York 
was  the  most  exposed  State,  and  with  Canada  on  the  north,  hos 
tile  New  England  on  the  east,  the  sea  on  the  south,  and  New 
Jersey  and  the  almost  impenetrable  hills  and  forests  of  Penn 
sylvania  on  the  other,  the  British  believed  they  could  crush 
her.  This  would  separate  the  South  from  New  England  and 
allow  her  to  carry  out  her  long- cherished  plan  of  seceding  and 
forming  a  separate  government,  under  the  protection  of  Great 
Britain.  The  national  Government,  thwarted  every  way  by  the 


76  DEMOCRACY   IN   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

» 

Federalists,  was  without  men  or  means  adequate  to  the  defence 
of  the  State.  Its  blows  upon  Canada  had  been  few  and  ineffect 
ual.  But  the  Democracy  of  New  York  had  placed  at  the  head 
of  her  State  government  a  man  equal  to  the  emergency.  Daniel 
D.  Tompldns  was  her  much-loved  Governor. 

Governor  Tompkins  was  born  in  Wcstchester  County,  N.  Y., 
in  1774.  He  graduated  with  the  highest  honors  at  Columbia 
College,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1797  ;  settled  in  the 
city  of  New  York;  was  elected  to  the  Legislature  in  1802  ;  in 

1804  to  Congress;  appointed  a  justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  in 

1805  ;  and  in  1807  elected  Governor  of  the  State,  in  which  office 
he  continued,  by  reelection,  until  1817,  when  he  became  Vice- 
president,  before  he  was  thirty-three  years  of  age.     No  man  ever 
rose  more  rapidly  or  rested  on  a  more  solid  foundation,  or  served 
in  these  various  capacities  more  to  the  satisfaction  of  those  he 
represented. 

His  personal  appearance  was  strongly  in  his  favor,  and  his 
conversational  powers  charmed  all  who  heard  him.  He  was 
genial,  kind-hearted,  and  benevolent.  It  was  in  pursuance  of  his 
two  recommendations  that  the  Legislature  enacted  the  gradual 
abolition  of  slavery  in  the  State.  He  was  a  stanch  friend  of 
education,  and  of  many  charitable  institutions.  The  poor  and 
suffering  were  never  turned  away  empty-handed  from  his  door, 
He  loved  his  country,  her  institutions,  and  the  principles  of 
democracy  upon  which  they  were  founded.  A  more  perfect 
personification  of  those  principles  never  lived.  Although  ex 
tremely  gentle,  he  was  as  firm  as  the  hills  in  favor  of  what  ho 
believed  to  be  right.  He  acted  no  studied  part,  but  exhibited  to 
the  world  the  natural  impulses  of  a  true  heart.  He  possessed  the 
happy  faculty  of  remembering  the  name  and  face  of  every  person 
to  whom  he  had  been  introduced,  and  was  the  admiration  of  those 
who  add  grace  and  give  charms  to  drawing-rooms.  The  father 
being  a  Westchester  farmer,  the  son  received  the  sobriquet  of 
"  The  farmer's  son." 

Such  was  the  man  at  the  helm  in  New  York  when  the  War 
of  1812  was  declared.  He  commenced  his  political  career  in 
1801,  the  year  that  Jefferson  was  inaugurated,  and  sustained  him 


DANIEL    D.    TOMPKINS.  77 

and  Madison  throughout  their  administrations,  giving  them  and 
their  principles  his  hearty  and  fervid  support.  He  had  then  been 
five  years  in  the  Executive  chair,  and  had  a  strong  hold  upon  the 
masses,  as  well  as  upon  leading  men.  He  had  been  found  fully 
adequate  to  his  position,  and  never  shrunk  from  any  duty.  He 
was  the  first  Governor  who  had  had  the  nerve  to  prorogue  the 
Legislature  under  the  provisions  of  the  then  constitution.  This 
he  had  done  on  the  27th  of  March,  1812,  hoping  thereby  to  pre 
vent  the  chartering  of  a  bank  through  the  means  of  bribery  and 
corruption.  Then,  he  displayed  an  honesty,  firmness,  and  courage 
which  the  people  greatly  admired,  as  his  triumphant  reelection 
the  next  year  clearly  confirmed. 

Every  call  made  by  the  national  Government  upon  the  State 
was  promptly  answered.  At  his  instance  the  Legislature  voted 
me  i,  which  the  Governor  caused  to  be  sent  into  the  field ;  and 
money,  which  he  properly  applied.  He  advanced  all  his  own 
means  and  all  he  could  procure  among  his  friends  to  aid  in  bring 
ing  the  war  to  a  successful  close.  But  more  money  was  required. 
The  banks  would  not  lend  on  the  stocks  or  treasury  notes  of  the 
na1  ional  Government  without  additional  security.  When  informed 
that  half  a  million  could  be  raised  on  treasury  notes  if  the  Govern 
or  wTould  indorse  them,  he  remarked  that  he  should  have  to  act 
on  his  own  responsibility  and  should  be  ruined.  Thereupon, 
Rums  King  remarked  to  him,  "  Then  ruin  yourself,  if  it  becomes 
necessary  to  save  the  country,  and  I  pledge  you  my  honor  that  I 
will  support  you  in  whatever  you  do."  Governor  Tompkins  in 
dorsed  the  notes,  and  the  banks  advanced  the  money. 

The  Governor  traversed  the  State,  and  went  wherever  he  could 
bo  useful  in  rallying  men  and  facilitating  the  progress  of  prepara 
tion  for  defence  or  assault,  not  unfrequently  assisting  with  his 
own  hands  in  prying  from  the  mud,  wagons  loaded  with  war- 
supplies. 

Such  was  his  hold  upon  the  confidence  of  the  people,  that  Mr. 
Madison  tendered  him  the  office  of  Secretary  of  State,  then  con 
sidered  the  stepping-stone  to  the  presidency,  but  he  declined. 
In  October,  1814,  he  was  appointed  by  Mr.  Madison  to  the  com 
mand  of  the  third  military  district,  which  included  New  York,  in 


78  DEMOCRACY   IN   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

which  he  acquitted  himself  with  very  great  ability  and  success. 
When,  at  the  close  of  the  war,  the  troops  were  disbanded,  he  re 
ceived  from  all  quarters  complimentary  letters  expressing  much 
gratitude  for  his  services.  These  compliments,  and  the  satisfac 
tion  of  having  faithfully  performed  his  duty,  are  all  the  recompense 
he  ever  received  for  his  services. 

He  was  reflected  Governor,  by  a  triumphant  majority,  at  the 
spring  election  of  1816.  A  congressional  caucus  having  nominated 
James  Monroe  for  President  and  Governor  Tompkins  for  Vice- 
President,  they  were  both  elected  in  December,  1816,  and  were 
sworn  into  office  on  the  4th  of  March,  1817.  Both  were  reflected, 
and  served  until  the  4th  of  March,  1825.  In  1821  Vice- 
President  Tompkins  was  a  delegate,  and  elected  president  of  the 
convention  for  the  revision  of  the  constitution  of  New  York. 
He  died  on  the  llth  of  June,  1825,  on  Staten  Island,  where  he 
then  resided,  deeply  lamented  by  all  who  knew  him. 

Such  a  man  as  Daniel  D.  Tompkins  is  an  honor  to  the  age 
and  State  in  which  he  lived.  Of  all  fraud,  peculation,  and  dis 
honesty  he  was  innocent.  The  assault  of  his  political  enemies, 
charging  that  he  was  a  defaulter  to  the  State  and  nation,  was  dis 
proved  by  the  action  of  the  State  Legislature  as  to  the  one  and 
Congress  as  to  the  other,  the  latter  appropriating  over  $95,000  as 
a  balance  due  him. 

To  him,  more  than  to  any  other  man,  are  we  indebted  for  pre 
venting  the  British  from  sweeping  over  the  State  of  New  York  and 
subduing  it,  and  for  restraining  the  secession  and  disunion  proclivi 
ties  of  New  England  and  the  growing  discontents  in  New  Jersey. 
The  glorious  efforts  of  Tompkins  secured  New  York  to  the  Union, 
and  the  sober  second  thought  became  effective  in  New  Jersey, 
leaving  New  England  alone  in  her  despairing  agony  in  her  pursuit 
of  power.  But  for  the  management  of  Virginia  politicians,  whose 
fortunes  he  had  saved,  Tompkins  would  have  been  President,  as 
the  popular  voice  demanded  and  the  people  expected.  But  a  scat 
in  the  national  Executive  chair  could  not  have  added  to  his  fame 
or  worth,  and  could  only  have  furnished  cumulative  evidence  of  an 
admitted  fact.  New  York  will  ever  be  proud  of  him  as  a  son,  and 
the  nation  will  cherish  his  memory  with  admiration  and  gratitude. 


BURNING-   BLUE-LIGHTS.  9 

44.— BURNING  BLUE-LIGHTS. 

The  scrap  of  history  we  are  now  about  to  cite  is  given  to 
show  to  what  ends  erroneous  principles  will  carry  men.  Instead 
of  exerting  their  talents  and  energies  to  protect  their  fellow-citi 
zens  in  their  pursuits,  they  lead  men  to  defeat  protection  and 
humble  the  State  at  the  feet  of  a  foreign  power.  It  is  ever  the 
object  of  those  professing  anti-Democratic  principles  to  overcome 
every  opposing  obstacle  and  seat  themselves  in  power.  The  pur 
suit  of  the  object  occasions  excitement,  and  during  its  existence 
the  means  of  accomplishing  the  end  are  not  scrutinized  rigidly,  even 
if  their  propriety  is  at  all  considered.  Patriotism  is  ignored,  and 
every  thing  possible  must  be  made  to  contribute  to  ultimate  suc 
cess. 

During  the  War  of  1812  our  vessels-of-war  were  often  driven 
and  shut  up  in  protecting  harbors  to  avoid  the  superior  force  of 
the  enemy.  The  only  possible  chance  of  escape  was  under  cover 
o-:  the  darkness  of  night,  when  the  enemy  could  not  discern  their 
movements  nor  become  alarmed  at  them. 

During  the  war,  June  1,  1813,  Commodore  Decatur,  com 
manding  the  frigates  United  States  and  Macedonian,  and  Hornet, 
v/as  chased  into  the  harbor  of  New  London  by  a  vastly  superior 
force.  During  the  remainder  of  the  war,  these  three  vessels  con 
tinued  shut  in  there,  while  the  blockading  squadron  by  its  posi 
tion  commanded  the  commerce  of  Long  Island  Sound  and  vicini 
ty.  This  was  destructive  of  our  coasting  trade  in  that  quarter. 
Decatur  was  fertile  in  expedients  and  skilful  in  managing  to 
escape.  But  he  was  baffled  by  the  enemy,  who  seemed  always  to 
be  aware  of  his  intended  movements.  The  cause  soon  became 
perfectly  apparent.  Randall,  in  his  admirable  "Life  of  Jefferson," 
says: 

"  He  officially  communicated  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  (De 
cember  20, 1813)  that  he  attempted  to  get  to  sea  on  a  dark  and  tem 
pestuous  night ;  that  as  soon  as  his  movements  to  that  end  became 
apparent,  signals  continued  to  the  enemy  were  made  by  burning 
blue-lights  on  both  points  of  the  harbor's  mouth,  and  he  declared : 
1  There  is  not  a  doubt  that  they  (the  enemy)  have  by  signals  or 


80  DEMOCKACY   IN   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

otherwise  instantaneous  information  of  our  movements.  Notwith 
standing  these  signals  have  been  repeated  and  seen  by  twenty 
persons  at  least  in  this  squadron,  there  are  men  in  New  London  who 
have  the  hardihood  to  affect  to  disbelieve  it  and  the  effrontery  to 
avow  their  disbelief.'  During  a  severe  storm  of  wind  aiid  rain  in 
March,  1814,  Decatur  issued  orders  for  the  instant  embarcation 
of  his  officers.  In  a  very  short  time  blue-lights  were  thrown  up 
like  rockets  from  Long  Point,  and  were  immediately  answered  by 
three  guns  from  the  British  fleet.  These  signals  were  witnessed 
by  all  the  officers  and  men  in  the  American  look-out  boats  and 
also  by  some  of  the  officers  at  Fort  Trumbull.  They  were  known 
to  be  signals  by  those  who  were  perfectly  familiar  with  that  species 
of  marine  communication.  It  is  proper  to  say,  that  these  treason 
able  practices  were  admitted  and  severely  reprobated  by  a  portion 
of  the  Federalists."  * 

In  how  many  other  instances  signals  have  been  displayed  for 
the  benefit  of  the  enemy,  no  one  can  tell.  These  instances  show 
to  what  extent  party  feeling  will  go  when  under  excitement. 
Decatur  would  doubtless  have  got  to  sea  with  his  three  ships,  but 
for  the  successful  efforts  at  treason,  designed  to  crush  the  nation 
and  humble  it  before  the  British  lion  by  these  Federalists  at  New 
London. 

45.— DISUNION  PEOPOSED  BY  THE  FEDERALISTS. 

From  the  overthrow  of  the  Federal  party,  in  1800,  there  ex 
isted  a  grumbling  feeling  in  the  bosom  of  the  leaders  of  that 
party.  It  first  manifested  itself  in  the  action  on  the  treaty  ceding 
Louisiana  to  us,  and  in  the  legislation  necessary  to  carry  it  into 
effect.  The  settlement  of  the  Louisiana  purchase,  and  the  crea 
tion  of  States  out  of  it,  and  from  the  Virginia  and  other  cessions 
West,  clearly  indicated  the  future  loss  of  political  power  in  the 

*  The  author  is  greatly  indebted  to  Mr.  Randall's  work  for  facts  which 
he  states,  and  especially  for  many  extracts  which  he  gives.  He  cannot  too 
highly  recommend  this  work  to  those  who  seek  accurate  information  con 
cerning  the  Revolution,  the  formation  of  our  Federal  Government,  and  its 
operations  for  the  first  quarter  of  a  century.  It  is  the  only  work  that  has 
done  full  justice  to  the  mind  and  character  of  Mr.  Jefferson. 


DISUNION   PROPOSED   BY   THE   FEDERALISTS.  81 

East,  and  naturally  led  to  the  consideration  of  the  means  of  avert 
ing  it..  Separation  presented  the  only  practicable  mode.  As 
early  as  1796,  during  Washington's  administration,  the  question 
was  broached  in  a  series  of  papers  in  the  Hartford  Courant. 
Among  other  things,  it  was  stated  : 

"  The  Northern  States  can  subsist  as  a  nation,  as  a  republic, 
without  any  connection  with  the  South.  It  cannot  be  contested, 
tha';  if  the  Southern  States  were  possessed  of  the  same  political 
ideas,  a  union  would  still  be  more  desirable  than  a  separation. 
Bu;  when  it  becomes  a  serious  question,  whether  we  shall  give 
up  our  Government,  or  part  with  the  States  south  of  the  Potomac, 
no  man  north  of  that  river,  whose  heart  is  not  thoroughly  Demo 
cratic,  can  hesitate  what  decision  to  make. 

"  I  shall  in  future  papers  consider  some  of  the  great  events 
which  will  lead  to  a  separation  of  the  United  States,  and  show  the 
importance  of  retaining  their  present  Constitution,  even  at  the 
expense  of  a  separation  5  endeavor  to  prove  the  impossibility  of 
a  union  for  any  long  period  in  future,  both  from  the  moral  and 
political  habits  of  the  citizens  of  the  Southern  States;  finally, 
examine  carefully  to  see  whether  we  have  not  already  approached 
the  era  when  they  must  be  divided." 

In  relation  to  the  effect  of  the  Louisiana  purchase  upon  the 
Federal  party  and  its  disunion  design,  John  Quincy  Adams,  in 
1828,  wrote  :  "  This  design  had  been  formed  in  the  winter  of 
1303  and  1804,  immediately  after,  and  as  a  consequence  of,  the 
acquisition  of  Louisiana  ....  This  plan  was  so  far  matured,  that 
the  proposal  had  been  made  to  an  individual  to  permit  himself, 
at  the  proper  time,  to  be  placed  at  the  head  of  the  military  move 
ments,  which  it  was  foreseen  would  be  necessary  for  carrying  it 
into  execution.  The  project,  I  repeat,  had  gone  to  the  length  of 
fixing  upon  a  military  leader  for  its  execution." 

In  the  same  year  he  wrote  to  Governor  Plummer  of  New 
Hampshire,  saying : 

"  Much  of  my  information,  at  the  time,  was  collected  from  Mr. 
Tracy,  the  Senator  from  Connecticut,  who  disapproved  the  pro 
ject,  but  was,  I  believe,  made  acquainted  with  it,  in  all  its  partic 
ulars.  I  think,  though  I  am  not  sure,  that  it  was  he  who  named 
4* 


82  DEMOCRACY   IN   THE    UNITED   STATES. 

to  me  the  writer  of  the  plan  by  which  the  separation  was  to  be 
effected,  with  three  alterations  of  boundary :  1.  If  possible,  the 
Potomac.  2.  The  Susquehanna.  3.  The  Hudson.  That  is,  the 
Northern  Confederacy  was  to  extend,  if  it  should  be  found  prac 
ticable,  so  as  to  include  Maryland.  This  was  the  maximum. 
The  Hudson,  that  is,  New  England  and  a  part  of  New  York,  was 
the  minimum."  Mr.  Adams,  in  a  pamphlet,  gives  incidents  of  a 
visit  to  Rums  King  in  1804,  and  says:  "I  found  there  sitting 
Timothy  Pickering,  who,  shortly  after  I  went  in,  took  leave  and 
withdrew.  Mr.  King  said  to  me,  Colonel  Pickering  has  been  talk 
ing  to  me  about  a  project  they  have  for  the  separation  of  the 
States,  and  a  Northern  Confederacy." 

Governor  Plummer,  who  was  a  Senator  at  the  time  of  the  ac 
quisition  of  Louisiana,  addressed  a  letter  to  Mr.  Adams,  in  which  he 
declared  that  he,  Plummer,  "  was  a  disunionist  at  that  period — in 
favor  of  forming  a  separate  government  in  New  England — that  he 
was  consulted  on  such  a  plan  by  Federal  members  of  Congress 
from  New  England." 

Governor  Plummer's  son  published  a  life  of  his  father,  in 
which  he  gives  various  extracts  from  his  contemporaneous  journals 
and  correspondence,  exhibiting  the  definite  particulars  of  a  plan 
of  disunion,  and  of  interviews  in  reference  to  it,  with  its  projectors 
and  favorers. 

In  1806  the  Governor  mentions  in  his  journal  that  in  1804 
Timothy  Pickering,  James  Hillhousc,  and  himself,  dined  with 
Aaron  Burr;  that  Hillhouse  tl unequivocally  stated,  that  it  was 
his  opinion  that  the  United  States  would  soon  form  two  distinct 
and  separate  governments." 

In  his  journal  of  1809,  Governor  Plummer  says:  "When 
the  late  Samuel  Hunt  intimated  to  rne  the  necessity  of  seceding 
from  the  Union,  he  observed,  that  the  work  must  commence  in 
the  State  Legislatures ;  so  that  those  who  acted,  should  be  sup 
ported  by  State  laws.  This,  he  said,  was  the  opinion  of  Senator 
Uriah  Tracy,  and  of  many  others." 

Governor  Plummer  made  the  following  entry  in  his  journal  on 
seeing  Ilillhouse's  denial  of  Mr.  Adams's  statement:  "  There  is  no 
circumstance  in  these  publications  that  surprises  me  so  much  as 


DISUNION    PEOPOSED   BY   THE   FEDERALISTS.  83 

the  letter  of  James  Hillhouse.  I  recollect,  and  am  certain,  that  on 
returning  early  one  evening  from  dining  with  Aaron  Burr,  this 
sair  e  Mr.  Hillhouse,  after  saying  to  me  that  New  England  had  no 
influence  in  the  Government,  added  in  an  animated  tone,  '  The 
Eastern  States  must  and  will  dissolve  the  Union,  and  form  a  separate 
Government  of  their  own,  and  the  sooner  they  do  this  the  better.' 
.....  But  there  was  no  man  with  whom  I  conversed  so  often,  so 
fully,  and  so  freely,  as  with  Roger  Griswold.  He  was,  without 
doubt  or  hesitation,  decidedly  in  favor  of  dividing  the  Union,  and 
establishing  a  Northern  Confederacy." 

Governor  Plummer,  in  his  journal,  speaks  of  walking  hours 
with  Pickering,  who  eventually  said,  "  That  he  thought  the  United 
States  too  large  and  their  interests  too  diversified  for  the  Union 
to  continue,  and  that  New  England,  New  York,  and  perhaps  Penn 
sylvania,  might  and  ought  to  form  a  separate  government.  He 
then  paused,  and,  looking  me  fully  in  the  face,  awaited  my  reply. 
I  simply  asked  him  if  the  division  of  the  States  was  not  the  ob 
ject  which  General  Washington  most  pathetically  warned  the 
people  to  oppose.  He  said,  '  Yes,  the  fear  of  it  was  a  ghost, 
that  for  a  long  time  haunted  the  imagination  of  that  old  gentle- 


In  1840  Plummer  says,  that  "  Tracy  told  him  in  the  winter 
of  1804  that  he  was  in  favor  of  the  Northern  States  withdrawing 
from  the  Union."  These  charges,  so  far  as  Pickering  was  con 
cerned,  were  never  denied.  The  feeling  which  thus  manifested 
itself,  soon  began  to  grow,  and  expanded  over  a  much  larger  sur 
face.  When  Mr.  Jefferson's  restrictive  measures  became  effective, 
the  old  disunion  feeling  sprang  up  afresh,  and  assumed  a  more 
open  and  threatening  aspect.  It  ceased  to  be  confined  to  half- 
confidential  communications  among  friends,  but  was  openly  dis- 
.jussecl  by  individuals,  put  forth  in  partisan  newspapers,  and  brought 
to  the  consideration  of  legislative  bodies.  It  was  fast  growing 
into  a  political  issue,  and  forming  a  plank  in  the  Federal  platform. 
Whatever  name  might  be  given  to  this  feeling,  at  the  bottom  it 
meant  disunion.  The  intensely  Federal  States  of  New  England 
wished  to  be  separated  in  interest,  as  they  were  in  principle  and 
feeling,  from  the  strongly  Democratic  States,  whose  votes  had 


84:  DEMOCEACY   IN   THE   UNITED    STATES. 

brought  Jefferson  and  Madison  into  power,  and  sustained  them  in 
their  measures. 

Mr.  John  Quincy  Adams  gave  ample  assurance  that  a  strong 
disunion  feeling  existed,  and  had  assumed  forms  and  distinct  cle- 
sio-ns  in  1808  and  1809.  Mr.  Jefferson  fully  believed  in  the  ex 
istence  of  these  designs.  There  was  ample  evidence  to  establish 
such  a  belief,  and  frequent  additions  were  made  to  this  evidence. 
In  1811  a  bill  was  reported  in  Congress  to  enable  the  people  of 
Orleans  Territory  to  form  a  constitution  and  State  government.  In 
a  speech  opposing  this  bill,  Josiah  Quincy,  of  Massachusetts,  said, 
"  its  passage  would  justify  a  revolution  in  this  country."  In  an 
other  part  of  bis  speech,  already  quoted,  he  said,  "  if  the  bill  should 
pass,  the  Union  would,  by  that  act,  be  dissolved." 

It  has  been  said  that  there  are  no  Sundays  in  revolutionary 
times,  which  may  account  for  the  Federalists  holding  a  caucus  in 
Boston  the  Sunday  night  before  the  State  election  in  1811,  at  which 
resolutions  were  passed  denouncing  the  non-intercourse  law,  and  in 
favor  of  "  electing  such  men  to  the  various  offices  of  the  State  gov 
ernment  as  would  oppose  by  peaceable,  but  firm  measures,  the  exe 
cution  of  laws  which,  if  persisted  in,  must  and  would  be  resisted." 
Gerry,  who  was  then  elected  Governor,  expressed  his  opinion  of 
these  partisans,  by  calling  them  in  his  message  "  seditious,  incep 
tive  traitors,  and  domestic  partisans  of  foreign  power."  The  Gov 
ernor  removed  from  office  very  many  of  these  partisans,  filling 
their  places  with  Democrats.  Mr.  Jefferson  afterward  wrote  him 
on  the  subject,  in  which,  among  other  things,  he  said:  "What, 
then,  does  this  English  faction  with  you  mean  ?  Their  newspapers 
say  rebellion,  and  that  they  will  not  remain  united  with  us,  unless 
we  will  permit  them  to  govern  the  majority.  If  this  be  their  pur 
pose,  their  anti-republican  spirit,  it  ought  to  be  met  at  once.  .  .  . 
But  I  trust  that  such  perverseness  will  not  be  that  of  the  honest 
and  well-meaning  mass  of  the  Federalists  of  Massachusetts,  and 
that  when  the  questions  of  separation  and  rebellion  shall  be  nakedly 
proposed  to  them,  the  Gores  and  Pickerings  will  find  their  levees 
crowded  with  silk-stocking  gentry,  but  no  yeomanry ;  an  army  of 
officers  without  soldiers.  I  hope,  then,  all  will  still  be  well,  the 
Anglo-men  will  consent  to  make  peace  with  their  bread  and  but- 


THE    IIAKTFORD    CONVENTION   OF   1814.  85 

tei,  and  you  and  I  shall  sink  to  rest,  without  having  been  actors 
or  spectators  of  another  civil  war.  .  .  .  "We  have  not  timed  these 
th  Jigs  well  together,  or  we  might  have  begun  a  realliance  between 
Massachusetts  and  the  Old  Dominion,  faithful  companions  in  the 
War  of  Independence,  peculiarly  tallied  in  interests,  by  each  want 
ing  exactly  what  the  other  has  to  spare  ;  and  estranged  to  each 
other,  in  later  times,  only  by  the  practices  of  a  third  nation,  the 
common  enemy  of  both." 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Osgood,  of  Massachusetts,  said,  in  a  published 
sermon :  "If,  at  the  present  moment,  no  symptoms  of  civil  war 
appear,  they  certainly  will  soon,  unless  the  courage  of  the  war 
party  should  fail  them.  A  civil  war  becomes  as  certain  as  the 
events  that  happen  according  to  the  known  laws  and  established 
course  of  Nature." 

Much  more  of  this  evidence  might  be  collected ;  but  these 
extracts  are  sufficient  to  show  the  drift  of  the  anti-Democracy  in 
favor  of  disunion.  But  the  attempt  to  embody  the  intentions  of 
the  party  and  secure  action  in  conformity  with  the  designs  of  its 
leaders,  remains  to  be  given  under  another  head. 

46.— THE  HARTFOKD  CONYEXTIOX  OF  1814. 

This  ever-memorable  assemblage,  though  after  its  utter  failure, 
assuming  not  to  be  disloyal  to  the  Constitution,  and  almost  claim 
ing  to  be  patriotic,  was  preceded  by  announcements  by  its  friends, 
which  leave  little  doubt  of  its  disunion  intentions,  and  was  broad 
ly  sustained  by  many  of  the  Federal  party.  We  extract  liberally 
from  what  preceded  its  meeting. 

The  Boston  Gazette :  "  Is  there  a  patriot  in  America  who  con 
ceives  it  his  duty  to  shed  his  blood  for  Bonaparte,  for  Madison, 
for  Jeiferson,  and  that  host  of  ruffians  in  Congress  who  have  set 
their  face  against  us  for  years,  and  spirited  up  the  brutal  part  of 
the  populace  to  destroy  us  ?  Not  one." 

Another  Boston  journal  said:  "To  the  cry  of  disunion  the 
plain  answer  is,  that  the  States  are  already  separated ;  the  band 
of  union  is  broken  by  President  Madison.  As  we  are  going  on, 
•we  certainly  shah1  be  brought  to  irretrievable  ruin.  The  conven 
tion  cannot  do  a  more  popular  act,  not  only  in  New  England  but 


86  DEMOCRACY   IN    THE   UNITED    STATES. 

throughout  the  Atlantic  States,  than  to  make  a  peace  for  the 
good  of  the  whole.  The  convention  must  report  to  their  con 
stituents  on  the  subject  of  peace  or  war.  If  they  find  it  is  to  con 
tinue,  it  is  to  be  hoped  they  will  recommend,  and  that  the  States 
will  adopt  the  recommendation,  that  no  men  or  money  shall  be 
permitted  to  go  out  of  New  England  until  the  militia  expenses, 
already  incurred,  are  reimbursed,  nor  until  the  most  ample  provi 
sion  is  made  for  the  defence  of  the  New-England  States  during 
the  war." 

The  Baltimore  Federal  Republican  (November  17,  1814)  said: 
"  On  or  before  the  4th  of  July,  if  James  Madison  is  not  out  of 
office,  a  new  form  of  government  will  be  in  operation  in  the  East 
ern  section  of  the  Union.  Instantly  after,  the  contest  in  many 
States  will  be,  whether  to  adhere  to  the  old  or  join  the  new  Gov 
ernment." 

The  New-  York  Commercial  Advertiser  said  :  "  Old  Massachu 
setts  is  as  terrible  to  the  American  now  as  she  was  to  the  British 
Cabinet  in  1775  ;  for  America,  too,  has  her  Butes  and  her  Norths. 
Let  then  the  commercial  States  breast  themselves  to  the  shock, 
and  know  that  to  themselves  they  must  look  for  safety." 

E.  Parish,  a  clergyman  at  Byfield,  published  a  sermon  in  which 
he  said:  "  The  Israelites  became  very  weary  of  yielding  the  fruit 
of  their  labors  to  pamper  their  splendid  tyrants.  They  left  their 
political  woes.  They  separated.  Where  is  our  Moses  ?  "Where 
is  the  rod  of  his  miracles  ?  Where  is  our  Aaron  ?  Alas !  no  voice 
from  the  burning  bush  has  directed  them  here.  .  .  .  Such  is 
the  temper  of  the  American  republicans,  so  called.  A  new  lan 
guage  must  be  invented  before  we  attempt  to  express  the  baseness 
of  their  conduct  or  describe  the  rottenness  of  their  hearts.  .  .  . 
New  England,  if  invaded,  would  have  to  defend  herself.  Do  you 
not  owe  it  to  your  children,  and  owe  it  to  your  God,  to  make 
peace  for  yourselves?  .  .  .  The  full  phials  of  despotism  are 
poured  in  on  your  heads,  and  yet  you  may  challenge  the  plodding 
Israelite,  the  stupid  African,  the  feeble  Chinese,  the  drowsy  Turk, 
or  the  frozen  exile  of  Siberia,  to  equal  you  in  tame  submission  to 
the  powers  that  be.  llcre  we  must  trample  on  the  mandates  of 
despotism,  or  here  we  must  remain  slaves  forever.  .  .  .  IIow 


THE    HAETFOIID   CONVENTION   OF   1814.  87 

will  the  supporters  of  this  anti-Christian  warfare  endure  their  sen 
tence — endure  their  own  reflections — endure  the  fire  that  forever 
burns — the  worm  that  never  dies — the  hosannas  of  heaven — 
while  the  smoke  of  their  torments  ascends  forever  and  ever !" 

Luther  Martin,  a  distinguished  Marylander,  was  appointed  in 
1314  Chief  Justice  of  the  Oyer  and  Terminer  Court  in  Baltimore, 
and,  not  to  be  behind  others  in  his  denunciations,  went  out  of 
his  way  in  charging  the  Grand  Jury,  and  thus  addressed 
t  aem : 

"The  horrid  atrocities  of  France  are  proofs  that  fallen  man, 
for  whose  restraints  governments  were  created,  is  a  more  deformed 
find  debased  monster  than  the  beasts  of  the  earth.  Wriggling 
themselves  into  peace,  republicans  become  demagogues;  and 
republicanism  is  by  no  means  inseparable  from  virtue.  False 
philosophy,  conceived  in  hell  and  nursed  by  the  devil,  propagated 
in  Europe  all  their  wretchedness,  too  extensively  introduced  into 
the  United  States.  The  American  Revolution  was  completed  by 
men  of  virtue,  morality,  and  religion;  but  the  sun  does  not  shine 
on  a  people  who  have,  since  then,  so  deteriorated  in  virtue,  morali 
ty,  and  religion  ;  their  depreciation  began  with  that  of  paper 
money,  and  for  twenty  years  Europe  has  been  spewing  on  this 
devoted  country  an  almost  unremitting  torrent  of  her  filthiest 
feculency,  tainting  a  mass,  become  still  more  rotten.  Vainly  do 
we  attribute  our  evils  to  a  violation  of  sailors'  rights  or  to  a  weak 
Government.  Providence  punishes  us  for  our  sins  with  war,  the 
worst  of  curses,  worse  than  famine  and  pestilence.  No  guilt  can 
be  more  inexpiable  than  that  of  him  who,  without  just  cause, 
plunges  a  nation  into  war.  In  the  sight  of  Heaven  such  a  man 
will  be  viewed  as  the  wilful,  deliberate  murderer  of  every  individ 
ual  who  loses  his  life  in  its  prosecution,  and  his  soul  is  stained  of 
every  drop  of  blood  thereby.  They  who  add  sin  to  sin  with 
.^greediness  in  prosecuting  the  war  with  which  we  are  afflicted  by 
an  avenging  God,  are  those  truly  guilty  of  moral  treason.  I  hold 
it,  gentlemen,  as  a  sound,  incontrovertible  truth,  a  truth  of  which 
I  cannot  doubt,  that  no  citizen  can  more  righteously  divest  him 
self  of  his  allegiance  to  his  Government,  without  its  consent,  than 
his  Government  can,  without  his  consent,  deprive  him  of  its  pro- 


88  DEMOCRACY   IN   THE    UNITED    STATES. 

tection.  This  truth  is  formed  in  the  very  nature  of  civil  society. 
The  contrary  doctrine  is  the  spawn  of  folly  and  knavery,  what 
ever  wiseacres  of  modern  growth  may  tell  us." 

After  calling  to  mind  such  specimens  of  instruction  from  legis 
lative  bodies,  the  bench,  and  the  pulpit,  we  are  prepared  for  the 
next  step  toward  practical  disunion.  The  public  mind  had  be 
come  measurably  prepared  for  it.  The  approach  was  by  cautious 
advances  at  first,  and  became  more  open  and  bold  as  it  pro 
gressed.  It  would  not  do  to  startle  the  public  mind,  and  arouse 
it  to  resistance  by  a  bold  and  frank  avowal  of  those  in  high  pub 
lic  positions.  Their  acts  and  professions  were  subject  to  public 
scrutiny  and  the  calm  reflections  of  men  of  sober  judgment. 
Clergymen,  as  they  professed  a  high  sanctity  and  spoke  in  the 
name  of  Heaven,  were  not  subject  to  such  severe  and  searching 
criticisms.  There  was  no  bar  of  stern-judging  men  to  whom 
they  were  accountable,  although  the  result  of  their  teaching 
might  be  equally  effective,  and  more  difficult  to  be  counteracted. 
The  younger,  and  especially  the  female  portion  of  their  auditors 
— who,  when  once  aroused,  are  the  most  uncompromising  politi 
cians,  with  unlimited  influence — never  hear  the  other  side,  or 
learn  the  ground  upon  which  it  stands.  Hence  the  effect  of 
political  preaching.  Old  politicians  learn  how  to  present  thoughts 
that  are  scarcely  seen  in  their  language.  They  arouse  the  passions 
by  language  of  equivocal  meaning,  often  interpreted  by  look  and 
gesture.  Hence,  the  peculiar  language  of  those  calling  the  Hart 
ford  Convention.  It  is  apparent  they  meant  that  the  majority 
should  yield  to  the  minority,  and  permit  them  to  rule,  or  they 
would  secure  the  means  of  doing  so  by  defying  the  Government, 
and  making  peace  for  themselves.  AVlicn  the  Massachusetts 
Legislature  convened  in  the  fall  of  1814,  Governor  Strong  de 
livered  a  message  full  of  violent  expressions,  denouncing  the  war 
and  its  management.  In  the  Senate  it  was  referred  to  a  commit 
tee,  of  which  Harrison  Gray  Otis  was  chairman,  who  made  a  long 
report  full  of  philippics  against  the  Democracy,  and  those  repre 
senting  it  in  the  national  Government.  The  following  is  an  ex 
tract  : 

"  It  is,  therefore,  with  great  concern  that  your  committee  are 


THE    IIAETFORD    CONVENTION    OF    1814.  89 

obliged  to  declare  their  conviction  that  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States,  under  the  administration  of  the  persons  in  power, 
has  failed  to  secure  to  this  Commonwealth,  and,  as  they  believe,  to 
the  Eastern  section  of  the  Union,  those  equal  rights  and  benefits, 
which  were  the  objects  of  its  formation,  and  which  they  cannot 
relinquish  without  ruin  to  themselves  and  posterity.  These  griev 
ances  justify,  and  require  vigorous,  persevering,  and  peaceable 
exertions  to  unite  those  who  realize  the  sufferings  and  foresee  the 
dangers  of  the  country  in  some  system  of  measures  to  obtain  re 
lief,  for  which  the  ordinary  mode  of  procuring  amendments  to  the 
Constitution  affords  no  reasonable  expectation,  in  season  to  prevent 
the  completion  of  its  ruin.  The  people,  however,  possess  the  means 
of  certain  redress  ;  and  when  their  safety,  which  is  the  supreme 
law,  is  in  question,  these  means  should  be  promptly  applied.  The 
frumers  of  the  Constitution  made  provision  to  amend  defects 
which  were  known  to  be  incident  to  every  human  institution;  and 
the  provision  itself  was  not  less  liable  to  be  found  defective  upon 
experiment  than  other  parts  of  the  instrument.  When  this  de 
ficiency  becomes  apparent,  no  reason  can  preclude  the  right  of 
tae  whole  people,  who  were  parties  to  it,  to  adopt  another;  and 
i';  is  not  a  presumptuous  expectation  that  a  spirit  of  equity  and 
justice,  enlightened  by  experience,  would  be  able  to  reconcile 
conflicting  interests,  and  obviate  the  principal  cause  of  those  dis 
sensions  which  unfit  Government  for  a  state  of  peace  or  war,  and 
so  amend  the  Constitution  as  to  give  vigor  and  duration  to  the 
union  of  the  States.  But,  as  a  proposition  for  such  a  convention 
from  a  single  State  would  probably  be  unsuccessful,  and  our 
danger  admits  of  no  delay,  it  is  recommended  by  the  committee 
that,  in  the  first  instance,  a  conference  should  be  invited  between 
those  States,  the  affinity  of  whose  interests  is  closest,  and  whose 
habits  of  intercourse,  from  their  local  situation  and  other  causes, 
are  most  frequent;  to  the  end  that  by  a  comparison  of  their 
sentiments  and  views,  some  mode  of  defence,  suited  to  the  circum 
stances  and  exigencies  of  those  States,  and  measures  for  acceler 
ating  the  return  of  public  prosperity,  may  be  devised ;  and  also  to 
enable  the  delegates  from  those  States,  should  they  deem  it  ex 
pedient,  to  lay  the  foundation  for  a  radical  reform  in  the  national 


90  DEMOCRACY   IN   THE    UNITED    STATES. 

compact,  by  inviting  to  a  future  convention  a  deputation  from  all 
the  States  in  the  Union." 

Resolutions  in  relation  to  preparing  for  a  defence  of  tlie  State 
were  reported.  The  following  relates  to  calling  the  convention 
that  eventually  assembled  at  Hartford : 

"  Resolved,  That  persons  be  appointed  as  delegates  from  the 
Legislature,  to  meet  and  confer  with  delegates  from  the  States  of 
New  England,  or  any  of  them,  upon  the  subjects  of  their  public 
grievances  and  concerns,  and  upon  the  best  means  of  preserving 
our  resources,  and  of  defence  against  the  enemy,  and  to  devise 
and  suggest  for  adoption  by  those  respective  States  such  meas 
ures  as  they  may  deem  expedient;  and  also  to  take  measures,  if 
they  shall  think  proper,  for  calling  a  convention  of  all  the  United 
States,  in  order  to  revise  the  Constitution  thereof,  and  more  effec 
tually  to  secure  the  support  and  attachment  of  all  the  people,  by 
placing  all  upon  the  basis  of  fair  representation." 

The  report  was  accepted,  and  resolutions  adopted.  What  did 
they  mean  ?  They  declared  the  Constitution  and  the  provision 
authorizing  amendments  so  defective  as  to  be  incapable  of  afford 
ing  relief.  Why  did  they  invite  only  the  New  England  States 
to  be  represented?  There  were  Federalists  in  other  States.  Why 
not  state  the  distinct  grievance,  and  propose  a  specific  remedy, 
instead  of  covering  up  their  objects  in  hinting  at  things  in  an  in 
distinct  manner?  Certainly  it  was  no  manly  way  of  proclaiming' 
grievances  and  seeking  redress. 

The  Massachusetts  Legislature  appointed  George  Cabot,  Har 
rison  Gray  Otis,  Nathan  Dane,  Joseph  Lyman,  and  eight  others, 
as  delegates  to  the  convention. 

In  the  Connecticut  Legislature  the  proceedings  were  quite  as 
violent.  Goodrich,  Ilillhousc,  and  five  others,  were  appointed 
delegates.  Rhode  Island,  evincing  the  same  spirit,  appointed  four 
delegates.  No  other  States  appointed  delegates.  The  conven 
tion  met  on  the  15th  of  December,  1814,  and  set  in  an  upper 
room  for  three  weeks  with  locked  doors,  so  as  to  exclude  all  out 
siders  from  a  full  knowledge  of  their  proceedings.  The  delegates 
reported  to  their  Legislatures  sundry  amendments  of  the  Constitu 
tion,  which  they  must  liave  known  could  never  be  adopted : — to 


THE   HARTFOED    CONVENTION   OF    1814.  91 

change  the  basis  of  representation,  confining  it  to  free  persons,  so 
as  to  diminish  the  representation  of  the  Southern  States  in  Con 
gress  and  in  the  electoral  college ;  to  limit  the  President  to  one 
tc  'in  ;  to  prohibit  all  foreign-born  from  holding  office ;  to  limit 
embargoes  to  sixty  days ;  to  prevent  Congress  from  restricting 
commercial  intercourse,  admitting  new  States,  declaring  war,  or 
authorizing  hostilities,  without  a  vote  of  two-thirds,  except  in 
cases  of  invasion.  They  shrank  from  a  public  avowal  of  the  rem 
edies  of  which  so  many  hints  had  been  given.  Massachusetts 
and  Connecticut,  in  conformity  with  the  recommendation  of  the 
convention,  appointed  delegates  to  proceed  to  Washington  to 
demand  arrangements  for  the  defence  and  protection  in  a  manner 
which  it  had  proposed.  H.  G.  Otis,  William  Sullivan,  and 
Thomas  II.  Perkins,  were  appointed  by  the  former,  and  Calvin 
Goddard  and  Nathaniel  Terry  by  the  latter  State. 

The  Federal  press  was  in  high  glee  upon  what  was  expected. 
Some  declared  Mr.  Madison  must  resign,  or  an  explosion  was  at 
hand.  The  commissioners  under  the  Hartford  Convention  pro 
ceeded  to  Washington ;  but  the  splendor  of  the  battle  of  New 
Orleans  dazzled  their  vision  and  blinded  them,  and  the  treaty 
of  peace  showed  that  "Othello's  occupation  was  gone."  At 
Washington  they  seldom  showed  themselves  to  the  public,  nor 
did  they  exhibit  their  credentials  to  anybody,  or  demand  any 
thing,  but  in  the  most  quiet  way  returned  home ;  and  we  arc  not 
aware  that  they  ever  made  official  rej>ort,  to  the  bodies  appoint 
ing  them,  of  how  they  performed  their  responsible  and  ardu 
ous  duties.  Ridicule  and  contempt  have  covered  them  with  a 
mantle,  which  neither  time  nor  all  their  efforts  have  been  able  to 
remove.  The  members  of  the  convention  put  forth  a  large 
number  of  explanations  of  their  motives  and  acts,  but  so  conflict 
ing  in  statement,  that  no  one  was  credited.  When,  years  after 
ward,  its  journal  was  published,  it  was  so  meagre  as  not  to 
throw  light  upon  any  point.  When  individuals  made  their  several 
explanations,  they  never  agreed.  The  proceedings  do  not  furnish 
any  means  of  understanding  the  real  wishes  and  intentions  of 
those  assembled.  They  were  instituted  and  commenced  with  a 
dauntless  courage ;  but,  knowing  that  all  rested  upon  a  false  and 


02  DEMOCRACY    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

insufficient  foundation,  the  conclusion  was  "lame  and  impotent." 
They  dare  not  openly  become  traitors,  and  the  authors  of  a  wide 
spread  treason,  which  Avould  swallow  up  them  and  their  support 
ers  in  the  great  gulf  of  crime.  They  remind  us  of  a  story  told 
in  Congress  of  Joe  Smashum,  who  complained  to  a  magistrate 
that  he  had  been  struck  by  Jimmy  Bang.  The  magistrate  asked 
him  how  many  times  he  had  been  hit.  He  answered,  "Thirty- 
five  times;  but  if  he  had  been  hit  once  more,  he  would  have 
made  all  hell  tremble  !  "  With  all  her  hostile  and  disunion  inten 
tions  New  England  did  not  strike,  because  she  had  not  received 
the  thirty-sixth  blow,  but  retired  into  comparative  insignifi 
cance.  Her  first  indications  of  considerable  political  life  wTas  in 
1824,  when  the  man  who  had  laid  the  crime  of  treason  at  her 
door  was  elected  President  to  confirm  the  statement.  John 
Quincy  Adams  charged  that  he  had  full  evidence  of  the  disunion 
intentions  of  New  England.  However  much  it  may  be  covered 
up  by  words  and  denials  of  different  delegates  and  of  individuals 
in  their  conflicting"  statements,  it  is  undoubtedly  true  that  the 
Hartford  Convention  was  conceived  in  a  disunion  sentiment,  .and 
became  paralyzed  in  its  parturition,  and  gave  birth  to  a  malcon- 
formation  of  hesitation,  doubt,  cowardice,  and  fear  of  the  conse 
quences  of  their  intended  treason,  and  its  consequent  infamy. 
Jackson's  victory,  and  peace,  which  have  been  practically  followed 
with  "  free  trade  and  sailors'  rights,"  have  sunk  the  authors,  par 
ties,  and  managers  of  the  Hertford  Convention,  in  the  words  of 
the  eloquent  Hannegan,  "so  low  that  the  hour  of  resurrection  will 
never  reach  them."  It  had  its  origin  in  disunion  intentions,  and 
sank  down  and  died  the  natural  death  of  a  traitorous,  despicable, 
and  arrant  cowardice,  now  despised  by  every  friend  of  his  coun- 
try. 

47— JOHN  IIOLMES'S  DESCRIPTION   OF  THE   HARTFORD  COXVEX- 
TIOX  AXD  ITS  AUTHORS. 

John  Holmes,  a  Senator  in  the  State  of  Massachusetts,  resided 
in  that  part  of  it  called  the  District  of  Maine.  He  was,  in  all 
respects,  a  superior  man  and  a  fearless  politician,  ready  to  speak 
his  thoughts  on  all  occasions,  whether  they  consisted  of  compli- 


IIOLMES'S  DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  HAETFOED  CONVENTION.      93 

ments,  complaints,  or  denunciations.     We  extract  from   two  of 
his  speeches : 

"You  boast  of  forbearance;  but  you  forbore  only  because 
yen  were  afraid  to  go  further.  You  complain  of  Southern  ag 
grandizement,  with  ten  members  in  the  Senate,  an  undue  propor 
tion  according  to  your  population.  Massachusetts  has  become 
contemptible,  a  byword  of  reproach.  Your  conduct  has  dis 
gusted  the  people  everywhere.  In  the  great  State  of  New  York 
they  have  risen  against  your  cabal,  and  hurled  defiance  in  your 
teeth.  There  is  amongst  us  a  reckless,  daring,  and  ambitious  fac 
tion,  who,  I  do  not  hesitate  to  proclaim,  prefer  the  British  Govern 
ment,  monarchy  and  all.  .  .  .  Afraid  to  overthrow  the  Con 
stitution,  you  try  to  undermine  it,  by  pretence  of  amendment. 
You  called  it  perfect,  when  you  were  in  pay.  The  friends  of 
peace,  declaring  that  the  country  could  not  be  kicked  into  a  war, 
forced  it  on ;  and,  failing  to  repossess  themselves  of  the  adminis 
tration,  tried  to  destroy  the  Government.  An  unauthorized  and 
unconstitutional  assemblage  at  Hartford  are  to  change  a  Constitu 
tion  declared  unfit  for  either  war  or  peace,  but  which  you  dare  not 
attack  openly.  The  leading  paper  of  your  party,  whose  editor,  as 
a  member  of  this  Legislature,  voted  for  the  delegates,  has  openly 
and  uniformly  declared  that  there  must  be  redress,  even  by  vio 
lence  and  resistance.  But  violence  is  dangerous,  and  therefore 
you  undermine  by  alterations.  Opposition  provoked  the  war  and 
protracts  it.  The  enemy  takes  possession  of  a  large  extent  of 
your  country.  Instead  of  expelling  him  from  it,  you  appoint  a 
convention  to  divide  the  States,  unless  you  are  permitted  to  rule 
them.  The  Hartford  Convention  exploded  in  a  mission  to  Wash 
ington.  If  Great  Britain  has  not  lost  confidence  in  Massachusetts 
scolding,  threatening,  vaporing,  evaporating,  she  prolongs  the  war, 
but  that  is  all.  She  makes  the  war  disastrous,  and  calls  it  dis 
graceful,  which  dishonors  the  enemy  she  courts.  Amid  all  its 
atrocious  vandalism,  which  of  you  has  ever  doubted  that  England 
is  in  the  right  ?  If  there  is  such  a  one,  I  am  ready  to  ask  his 
pardon.  You  accuse  the  late  President  Jefferson  of  causing  the 
war  and  defending  it.  But  why  excuse  his  predecessor,  President 
Adams,  who  still  more  vigorously  defends  the  war,  and  whom  you 


94:  DEMOCEACY   IN   THE   UNITED    STATES. 

consider  ten  times  worse  than  Jefferson.  You  object  to  defending 
Louisiana,  which  all  your  party  wanted  to  take  by  force  from 
Spain,  to  rush  into  invasion  and  war,  but  which,  peaceably  ac 
quired  by  purchase,  you  will  not  defend.  After  duping  England 
into  the  war,  you  continue  to  deceive  her:  you  dupe  her  again 
by  adulation  of  our  common  enemy  and  reproach  of  our  General 
Government.  The  war  has  been  as  useful  and  glorious  as  that  of 
the  Revolution,  and  eventually  will  be  so  recognized.  But  Massa 
chusetts  must  join  it,  or  all  the  disgrace  will  be  hers." 

Mr.  Holmes  subsequently  served  in  the  House  of  Representa 
tives,  and,  when  Maine  was  admitted  a  State,  was  appointed  a 
Senator  in  Congress.  His  description  of  the  Hartford  Conven 
tion  and  its  authors  agrees  with  that  of  Jefferson  in  his  corre 
spondence.  The  Federalists  never  shook  off  the  character  Mr. 
Holmes  gave  them.  They  took  revenge  in  applying  hard  names, 
and  by  assuring  the  public  that  he  belonged  to  a  celebrated  firm, 
which  they  doubtless  feared,  called  "John  Holmes,  Felix  Grundy, 
and  the  Devil."  Holmes  and  Grundy  objected  to  the  firm  only 
because  they  said  that  the  third  member  of  it  was  a  Hartford 
Convention  personage. 

48.— MR.  MADISON'S  SECOND  TERM. 

The  presidential  election  came  on  in  a  few  months  after  the 
declaration  of  Avar  in  June,  1812.  The  Democratic  States,  except 
New  York,  united  cordially  upon  Mr.  Madison.  George  Clinton 
having  died,  Elbridge  Gerry,  of  Massachusetts,  was  nominated 
for  Vice-President.  The  Democrats  in  the  New  York  Legislature 
nominated  De  Witt  Clinton  for  President,  who  claimed  that  he 
was  a  better  and  more  thorough  Democrat  than  Mr.  Madison. 
New  York  gave  him  her  vote,  and  every  Federal  State  voted  for 
him.  Mr.  Madison  received  128  votes,  and  Mr.  Clinton  89.  It 
was  a  singular  compliment  the  Federalists  paid  their  party  and  its 
principles  in  overlooking  all  their  own  friends,  and  voting  for  an 
open  and  avowed  Democrat.  If  they  expected  to  create  a  breach 
in  the  Democratic  party  which  could  not  be  healed,  they  were 
disappointed.  The  Democrats  were  actuated  by  pure  democratic 
motives,  and  their  measures  naturally  resulted  from  them,  and 


THE   INVASION   OF   WASHINGTON.  95 

were  successfully  applied  by  men  worthy  of  their  positions.  This 
action  of  the  Federal  party  demonstrated  that  they  were  actuated 
by  a  greed  for  power,  and  that  their  principles  had  a  peculiar 
elasticity  adapted  to  that  purpose. 

The  reelectiorf  of  Mr.  Madison  was  an  emphatic  indorsement 
of  his  principles  and  measures,  about  which  no  one  could  mis 
take.  The  people  had  decided  that  he  had  assumed  the  true 
ground,  and  that  he  was  the  trusted  leader  to  carry  out  their 
wishes.  It  was  also  an  approval  of  his  embargo  and  non-inter 
course  policy,  and  a  condemnation  of  the  course  of  New  England, 
and  especially  Massachusetts.  Mr.  Jefferson  had  left  him,  as  a 
legacy,  a  line  of  policy  which  he  had  helped  to  inaugurate.  He 
had  conscientiously  and  wisely  pursued  it,  and  the  electors  had 
passed  upon  it,  and  declared  it  right.  Thus  sustained,  he  felt  firm 
in  the  line  of  his  duty. 

19.— THE  INVASION,  SACKING,  AND  BURNING  OF  WASHINGTON. 

With,  their  immense  fleet,  when  the  British  were  measurably 
relieved  from  Continental  Avars,  they  could  penetrate  our  waters 
wherever  they  were  not  protected  by  fortifications.  They  had 
evinced  no  disposition  to  disturb  those  who  sang  their  praises  in 
New  England.  The  descent  upon  Castine  had  more  of  conven 
ience  than  hostility  in  it,  if  it  did  not  mean  to  shake  the  Democ 
racy  of  that  District,  then  an  appendage  of  the  mother  of  violence, 
Massachusetts.  Its  object  may  have  been  to  give  Federal  friends 
a  cause  of  complaint,  in  not  being  protected,  although  the  Federal 
theory  was,  that  State  troops  should  not  go  outside  of  State 
boundaries,  or  be  placed  under  the  command  of  the  national 
authorities.  It  is  certain  that  the  Eastern  cities  escaped  sacking 
and  all  forms  of  destruction.  But  Baltimore  and  Washington  be 
came  points  of  attack.  The  former  defended  itself,  and  has  reared 
monuments  that  furnish  the  history  of  her  self-defence.  Wash 
ington  was  then  little  more  than  a  laid-out  city,  intended  to  be 
built  over  several  old  Maryland  farms.  It  was  the  seat  of  Gov 
ernment,  but  not  the  home  of  power.  The  war-office  was  there, 
but  no  warriors  surrounded  it,  as  in  these  days.  There  was  no 
navy  there.  It  was  little  more  than  a  large  village,  with  public 


96  DEMOCRACY   IN  THE   UNITED   STATES. 

buildings  scattered  from  the  President's  mansion  to  the  capitol, 
a  mile  and  a  half  apart.  Madison  was  a  host  in  his  own  office, 
but  knew  little  of  fighting  or  the  strategy  of  war.  Armstrong, 
then  Secretary  of  War,  was  looked  to  as  the  appropriate  man 
there  to  wield  the  physical  power  of  the  nation.'  But  he  had  had 
no  power  and  but  little  experience.  He  was,  unfortunately,  con 
sidered  a  candidate  for  Madison's  succession,  though  not  "  in  the 
line  of  safe  precedents."  James  Monroe,  then  Secretary  of  State, 
and  Virginia's  candidate  for  the  succession,  had  burnt  powder 
and  drawn  blood  in  the  War  of  the  Revolution.  Both  were  on  the 
field  when  the  British  approached  through  the  Chesapeake  and 
Potomac.  Strictly  speaking,  neither  had  the  right  to  command 
the  army  in  the  field.  Mr.  Madison  went  to  the  field,  not  as  a 
manager  of  our  forces,  but  rather  as  a  pacificator  among  rivals,  not 
for  command,  but  for  the  presidency.  He  was  cool,  collected, 
and  anxious  to  accomplish  great  good,  all  that  could  be  done,  not 
having  the  peculiar  qualifications  necessary  to  secure  the  result. 
The  enemy  sought  to  approach  Washington  through  Bladcnsburg, 
where  they  were  met  by  such  forces  as  could  then  be  brought  to 
the  field,  being  mostly  Maryland  and  Washington  militia.  In 
the  battle  at  Bladensburg,  the  British  were  successful,  and  our 
forces  retreated,  mostly  into  the  District  of  Columbia.  The  enemy 
followed  up  their  success,  and  took  possession  of  the  city,  and 
destroyed  the  capitol,  the  President's  house,  and  various  public 
offices,  including  their  records.  The  President,  his  family,  and  a 
portion  of  the  Cabinet,  with  some  hastily-collected  official  papers, 
had  barely  time  to  escape  capture.  Our  humiliation  was,  for 
a  time,  complete. 

When  they  had  finished  their  work,  the  British  returned  to 
their  shipping  on  the  Potomac  and  proceeded  down  the  bay. 
The  nation  felt  this  sad  blow,  but  it  fired  the  public  mind,  and  in 
fused  new  vigor  in  those  wielding  the  power  of  the  nation,  and  in 
the  Democratic  States.  They  wished  to  avenge  the  atrocity  of 
burning  our  public  buildings,  and  destroying  our  records,  so 
essential  to  the  management  of  our  public  affairs.  It  was  in  gross 
violation  of  civilized  warfare.  But  there  were  those  who  did  not 
grieve  over  the  calamity.  A  large  portion  of  the  Federal  party, 


THE   BATTLE   OF   NEW   OELEANS.  97 

some  openly,  and  others  secretly,  gloried  in  the  result.  They  had 
predicted  calamities,  and  a  great  one  had  befallen  us.  They  had 
foretold  the  consequences  of  a  conflict  with  the  mistress  of  the 
sef.s,  and  their  visions  and  predictions  had  become  realities. 
Tbey  charged  imbecility  and  weakness,  which  their  own  course 
contributed  to  produce.  They  charged  the  whole  to  the  influ 
ence  of  Democratic  principles,  and  to  those  who  were  guided  by 
them.  It  is  now  difficult  to  believe,  what  then  all  knew,  that 
there  were  men  among  us,  who,  to  accomplish  their  ends — res 
toration  to  power — were  willing,  nay,  rejoiced  to  see  our  nation 
humiliated  and  trampled  upon.  Such  victories  over  us  tended, 
in  their  estimation,  to  cripple  Madison  and  his  administration, 
which  would  open  the  pathway  for  Federalism  to  ride  into  power 
again.  The  lower  Madison  and  his  party  sank  in  the  estimation 
oi'the  world,  the  higher  they  would  be  .elevated,  at  least  in  com 
parison.  They  calculated,  if  once  in  power,  they  would  be 
exempt  from  British  aggressions,  owing  to  the  attitude  they  had 
maintained  toward  that  power  and  against  our  own  Government. 
Such  were  the  feelings  and  purposes  of  the  Federal  party  at  that 
time.  Their  descendants  have  not  really  improved  in  principle 
or  patriotism. 

50.— THE  BATTLE  OF  NEW  ORLEANS. 

The  defence  of  Baltimore,  the  victory  of  Macdonough  on 
Lake  Champlain,  and  Perry  on  Lake  Erie,  are  still  locally  cele 
brated  by  the  people  in  those  vicinities.  They  were  great  and 
important  events,  worthy  of  the  courage  and  energy  of  those  en 
gaged  in  them.  They  form  bright  pages  in  our  history.  The 
memory  and  achievements  of  the  prominent  actors  will  go  down 
to  posterity  as  examples  worthy  of  imitation.  But  the  battle  of 
New  Orleans  acquired  a  national  consideration.  Although  it  is 
local  in  name,  its  significance  is  national,  and  as  wide-spread  as 
our  Union,  and  has  its  mark  in  the  history  of  the  world.  It  was 
won  with  trifling  means  over  the  most  ample,  and  by  some 
thirty-five  hundred  raw  militia  over  fourteen  thousand  of  Eng 
land's  choicest  veterans.  It  was  won  by  one  comparatively  new 
in  the  art  of  war,  over  one  of  Great  Britain's  most  experienced 
5 


98  DEMOCRACY   IX   THE    UNITED    STATES. 

generals.  The  assailants  cliose  their  time  and  selected  the  place 
of  conflict.  The  Americans  had  no  bulwarks  of  defence  except 
those  hastily  provided  by  General  Jackson  from  bales  of  cotton. 
There  was  skill  in  the  attack,  but  far  greater  in  the  defence. 
The  British  troops  fought  because  that  was  their  employment, 
the  American  troops  for  liberty,  their  country,  their  homes,  and 
firesides.  The  former  were  trained  to  war,  the  latter  were  fired 
by  duty,  and  instinctively  performed  it  for  a  country  of  which 
they  were  proud  to  form  a  part.  The  watchward  of  the  one  was 
"Beauty  and  booty,"  and  the  other  "  Victory  or  death !"  The 
cool  commands  of  the  one  general  were  deliberately  obeyed,  while 
the  martial  fire  and  indomitable  energy  of  the  other  sent  a  thrill 
to  every  heart,  which  gave  it  quick  impulse  and  double  power. 
The  one  line  fired  its  aimless  shots,  and  the  other  gave  direction 
to  the  unerring  hunter's  rifle.  The  difference  was  soon  told  in 
the  death- struggles  of  the  encounter.  General  Packenham  lost 
over  2,000,  killed,  wounded,  and  prisoners,  and  General  Jackson 
seven  killed  and  six  wounded.  No  victory  could  be  more  com 
plete.  This  was  the  last  battle  of  the  war.  News  of  General 
Jackson's  unparalleled  achievement  rapidly  spread  over  the  coun 
try,  arousing  the  spirits  and  awakening  the  patriotism  of  all  who 
gloried  in  our  success.  The  news  of  Jackson's  victory  came  from 
Ihe  South,  and  that  of  the  treaty  of  peace  from  the  East,  These 
opened  the  hearts  and  mouths  of  all  true  patriots,  while  the 
Hartford-Convention  emissaries  at  Washington  were  dumb,  and 
returned  home  in  mysterious  silence  to  their  party.  The  nation 
rejoiced,  and  the  8th  of  January,  the  day  on  which  the  battle  was 
fought,  has  ever  since  been  celebrated  by  those  who  glory  in 
Democratic  principles. 

But  General  Jackson  soon  found  that  in  the  heart  of  his  camp 
there  were  mutinous  traitors.  The  news  of  peace  had  been  re 
ceived,  but  not  officially.  The  British  army  remained  not  many 
miles  distant.  General  Jackson  well  understood  that  his  duty 
required  the  utmost  vigilance  until  notified  by  authority  of  the 
treaty  of  peace.  Those  who,  too  cowardly  to  fight,  had  been 
protected  by  him,  sought  to  create  a  mutiny  on  account  of  his 
vigilance.  He  arrested  the  ringleader  for  the  crime  of  attempting 


THE    BATTLE    OF    NEW   ORLEANS.  99 

to  create  mutiny.  A  judge  came  to  his  rescue  with  a  writ  of  habeas 
corpus,  which  the  general  quietly  put  in  his  pocket,  and  sent  him 
four  miles  from  camp.  "When  peace  was  proclaimed,  the  judge 
relurned  and  fined  the  general  a  thousand  dollars,  for  contempt  of 
his  authority,  while  aiding  in  a  mutiny.  The  general  paid  the  fine, 
while  it  was  difficult  to  protect  the  judge  from  Lynch  law. 

The  enemies  of  the  general,  and  others  having  occasion  for 
strong  precedents  under  which  to  protect  themselves,  have  as 
sumed  that  the  general  declared  martial  law  and  suspended  the  writ 
of  habeas  corpus,  neither  of  which  is  true.  He  refused  to  obey 
the  habeas  corpus,  because  he  believed  it  one  link  in  the  chain  of 
mutiny.  If  the  writ  had  been  lawfully  suspended,  the  judge 
could  not  have  had  him  arrested  under  it  and  fined.  He  would 
h:ivc  set  up  the  suspension  and  denied  his  jurisdiction.  He 
novcr  issued  an  order  suspending  the  civil  and  establishing  martial 
la\v.  Like  all  other  officers,  he  controlled  his  camp  and  enforced 
the  usual  discipline,  and  nothing  more.  After  taking  command 
a:  New  Orleans,  General  Jackson  issued  public  orders  requiring 
four  things  in  aid  of  the  protection  of  his  camp.  One  was,  that 
no  person  should  leave  the  city  without  permission;  another,  that 
all  who  arrived  should  report  at  headquarters;  another,  that  those 
C'oing  or  coming  on  the  river  should  report  to  Lieutenant  Henry, 
c-f  the  navy ;  and  the  last,  that  all  lights  in  the  city  should  be 
extinguished,  and  people  retire  to  their  dwellings  by  nine  o'clock 
?it  night.  These  were  deemed  judicious  and  necessary  for  the 
protection  of  both  the  citizens  and  army.  He  did  not  displace 
the  civil-  law,  or  those  administering  it,  but  protected  and  sus 
tained  both. 

General  Jackson,  on  all  occasions,  was  a  rigid  upholder  of  the 
laws  and  institutions  of  the  country.  He  believed  that  the  Con 
stitution  was  sacred,  and  that  every  man  should  hazard  his  life 
for  its  defence  if  necessary,  and  that  every  constitutional  law 
should  be  enforced.  He  was  stern  and  uncompromising  in  de 
fence  of  his  own  rights  and  honor,  and  equally  so  in  protecting 
others.  It  cannot  be  truly  said  that  he  ever  suspended  the  writ 
of  habeas  corpus,  or  that  he  ever  declared  martial  law,  or  inter 
fered  with  the  rights  and  privileges  of  others,  further  than  to  pro- 


100  DEMOCRACY   IN   THE   UNITED    STATES. 

tect  his  camp,  and  those  within  it  receiving  his  protection.  As 
commander  of  an  army  as  well  as  in  all  other  situations,  General 
Jackson  rigidly  lived  up  to  the  rule  of  protecting  men  and  their 
property,  leaving  them  free  to  pursue  happiness  as  they  should 
deem  best  for  themselves. 

51.— THE   BANK   BILLS   OF   1815   AND    1816. 

It  has  been  elsewhere  stated  that  Mr.  Jefferson  gave  a  Cabinet 
opinion  in  1791,  against  the  first  bank  chartered  by  Congress 
which  expired  in  1811,  and  which  Congress  failed  to  renew.  In 
1814  Congress  passed  a  bill  which.  Mr.  Madison  vetoed  on  the  20th 
of  January,  1815,  on  the  ground  that  it  would  not  remedy  exist 
ing  evils  or  answer  any  salutary  purpose  of  a  public  nature.  His 
reasoning  was  clear,  cogent,  and  conclusive.  Mr.  Jefferson,  in 
speaking  of  the  bank  mania  which  then  prevailed,  said  :  "  Like  a 
dropsical  man  calling  out  for  more  water,  water,  our  deluded 
citizens  are  clamoring  for  more  banks,  more  banks.  The  Amer 
ican  mind  is  now  in  that  state  of  fever  which  the  world  has  so 
often  seen  in  the  history  of  other  nations.  We  are  under  the 
bank  bubble,  as  England  was  under  the  South  Sea  bubble,  France 
under  the  Mississippi  bubble,  and  as  every  nation  is  liable  to  be, 
under  whatever  bubble  design  or  delusion  may  puff  up  in  moments, 
when  off  their  guard.  We  are  now  taught  to  believe  that  leger 
demain  tricks  upon  paper  can  produce  as  solid  wealth  as  hard 
labor  in  the  earth.  It  is  vain  for  common-sense  to  urge  that 
nothing  can  produce  but  nothing ;  that  it  is  an  idle  dream  to  be 
lieve  in  a  philosopher's  stone  which  is  to  turn  every  thing  into 
gold,  and  to  redeem  man  from  the  original  sentence  of  his  Maker, 
'  In  the  sweat  of  his  brow  shall  he  eat  his  bread.' " 

Those  favoring  this  bank  application  claimed,  and  perhaps 
some  of  them  believed,  that  it  would  cure  all  the  financial  and 
monetary  evils  of  the  times,  and  furnish  a  currency  of  uniform 
value  and  equivalent  to  gold.  But  doubtless  most  of  those  fa 
voring  the  measure  saw  in  it  the  means  of  controlling  business  and 
making  money  with  more  ease  and  facility  than  by  plodding  on 
in  the  drudgery  of  hard  labor.  Patriotism  and  love  of  country 
had  little  share  in  the  controlling  inducements  to  action. 


THE   BANK    BILLS    OF   1815    AND    1816.  101 

The  next  year  Congress  passed  another  bank  bill,  so  framed 
as  10  obviate  Mr.  Madison's  objections,  and  it  became  a  law. 
Mr.  Madison  yielded  to  what  he  conceived  the  necessities  of  the 
times.  He  had  not  changed  his  opinion  as  to  the  un constitution 
ality  of  the  measure,  but,  yielding  to  the  argument  that  a  national 
barJc  had  been  recognized  in  so  many  ways  as  lawful,  he  was 
bound  to  yield  his  opinion.  This  did  not  change  Mr.  Jefferson's 
opinion.  Experience  showed  that  the  new  bank  caused  more 
evils  than  it  prevented  or  cured.  The  maxim,  that  debts  are  con 
tracted  when  banks  loan  freely  and  money  is  plenty,  and  paid 
wLen  they  contract  and  money  is  scarce,  was  most  fully  illustrated. 
It?  capital,  $35,000,000,  was  a  potent  power  in  the  state.  It 
must  be  loaned,  and  its  representatives,  in  the  shape  of  bills,  must 
be  circulated,  to  make  the  bank  profitable.  All  must  be  used  to 
make  the  enterprise  as  effective  and  powerful  as  the  promises 
which  had  brought  the  charter  from  a  doubting  Congress  and 
hesitating  President.  The  promises  of  its  authors  were  glittering 
with  prosperity  and  wealth.  The  nation  and  the  people  were  all 
to  be  made  suddenly  rich.  We  copy  the  following  from  Colonel 
Teuton's  "  Thirty  Years  :  " 

"  The  Bank  of  the  United  States  was  chartered  in  1816,  and 
before  1820  had  performed  one  of  its  cycles  of  delusive  and 
bubble  prosperity,  followed  by  actual  and  wide-spread  calamity. 
The  whole  paper  system,  of  which  it  was  the  head  and  citadel, 
after  a  vast  expansion,  had  suddenly  collapsed,  spreading  desola 
tion  over  the  land,  and  carrying  ruin  to  debtors.  The  years 
1819-'20  were  a  period  of  gloom  and  agony.  No  money,  either 
gold  or  silver ;  no  paper  convertible  into  specie ;  no  measure,  or 
standard  of  value,  left  remaining.  The  local  banks  (all  but  those 
of  New  England)  after  a  brief  resumption  of  specie  payments, 
again  stink  into  a  state  of  suspension.  The  Bank  of  the  United 
States,  created  as  a  remedy  for  all  those  evils,  now  at  the  head  of 
the  evil,  prostrate  and  helpless,  with  no  power  left  but  that  of 
suing  its  debtors,  and  selling  their  property,  and  purchasing  for 
itself  at  its  own  nominal  price.  No  price  for  property,  or  prod 
uce.  No  sales  but  those  of  the  sheriff  and  marshal.  No  pur 
chasers  at  execution  sales,  but  the  creditor,  or  some  hoarder  of 


102  DEMOCRACY   IN   THE   UNITED    STATES. 

money.  No  employment  for  industry — no  demand  for  labor — no 
sale  for  the  product  of  the  farm — no  sound  of  the  hammer,  but 
that  of  the  auctioneer  knocking  down  property.  Stop  laws — • 
property  laws — replevin  laws — stay  laws — loan  offices — the  inter 
vention  of  the  legislator  between  the  creditor  and  debtor.  This 
was  the  business  of  legislation  in  three-fourths  of  the  States  of 
the  Union — of  all  south  and  west  of  New  England.  No  medium 
of  exchange  but  depreciated  paper;  no  change  even  but  little 
bits  of  foul  paper,  marked  so  many  cents,  and  signed  by  some 
tradesman,  barber,  or  innkeeper ;  exchanges  deranged  to  the  ex 
tent  of  fifty  or  one  hundred  per  cent.  DISTRESS,  the  universal 
cry  of  the  people  :  RELIEF,  the  universal  demand  thundered  at  the 
doors  of  all  legislators,  State  and  Federal." 

The  truth  of  this  graphic  picture  has  never  been  questioned. 
It  is  a  matter  of  history.  The  author  might  have  added  that  after 
a  life  of  doubtful  utility,  and  floundering  for  years  in  the  sea  of 
politics,  the  bank  sunk  all  its  capital  except  a  dividend  of  three 
per  cent,  to  its  stockholders.  Such  was  the  result  of  the  great 
panacea,  and  the  fate  of  those  having  faith  in  it.  It  will  require 
a  man  of  more  eyes  than  the  fabled  Argus  to  discover  any  advan 
tage  to  the  people — any  protection  to  their  persons  or  property — 
in  this  bank,  so  fruitful  in  promises  and  so  barren  in  results. 

52.— JAMES  MONROE,  AND  HIS  ELECTION  TO  THE  PRESIDENCY. 

Mr.  Monroe  was  our  fifth  President,  and  a  native  and  resi 
dent  of  Virginia.  He  was  born  April  28,  1858,  and  educated  at 
William  and  Mary  College,  Virginia.  He  entered  the  army  of 
the  Revolution  as  a  cadet,  and  fought  in  the  battles  of  Harlem 
Heights,  White  Plains,  Brandy  wine,  Germantown,  and  Monmouth. 
He  rose  by  degrees  in  the  army,  his  last  commission  being  that  of 
colonel.  In  1781  he  retired  from  the  army,  and  read  law  under 
the  direction  of  Mr.  Jefferson,  in  his  office,  and  in  1782  was  elected 
to  the  State  Legislature,  which  body  appointed  him,  at  the  age  of 
twenty-three,  one  of  the  Executive  Council.  The  close  intimacy  be 
tween  Madison  and  Jefferson  brought  Mr.  Monroe  in  frequent  contact 
with  both.  The  deep  feeling  which  impelled  them  was  early  im 
bibed  by  Colonel  Monroe,  and  grew  with  his  growth  and  strength- 


JAMES    MONKOE   AND    HIS    ELECTION.  103 

cnccl  with  bis  strength.  In  their  daily  walk  he  saw  their  princi 
ples  illustrated  in  a  manner  calculated  to  impress  a  young  mind  in 
the  most  favorable  manner.  Tbeir  public  and  private  conduct  il 
lustrated  Democratic  principles  in  tbeir  purity,  unconnected  with 
either  cunning  or  selfishness.  Their  declarations  and  acts  har 
monized  as  honor  with  justice. 

Mr.  Monroe  was  neither  brilliant  nor  eloquent,  but  he  had  sound 
common-sense,  and  the  faculty  of  impressing  truth  upon  the  com 
mon  mind  with  clear  and  logical  convictions.  He  believed  what 
he  said,  and  said  what  he  believed.  He  was  noted  for  candor  and 
undisguised  simplicity.  He  Was  found  to  be  thoroughly  informed 
upon  all  topics  of  the  day,  and  able  to  assign  cogent  reasons  for 
whatever  he  advised.  He  could  neither  varnish  folly  nor  whiten 
wrong.  He  loved  his  friends,  arid  was  faithful  to  them,  while  tol 
erant  to  error  where  not  prompted  by  vice  or  crime.  Coming  in 
contact  with  the  multitude,  and  closely  observing  the  motives  of 
t'leir  actions  and  their  manner  of  development,  he  soon  acquired  a 
knowledge  of  men  which  proved  useful  throughout  life.  Virginians 
saw  that  Jefferson  and  Madison  gave  him  their  unrestricted  confi- 
c.ence,  and  they  added  their  own.  At  the  age  of  twenty-four  they 
elected  him  a  delegate  to  Congress,  where  he  served  to  the  satis 
faction  of  those  who  conferred  that  honor  upon  him.  After  leav 
ing  Congress  he  served  in  the  State  Legislature,  aiding  in  the  great 
work  of  the  civil  reform  of  the  statutes.  Subsequently  he  was  a 
member  of  the  convention  called  to  act  upon  the  question  of 
adopting  the  national  Constitution.  He  voted  against  it,  because 
he  found  that  it  was  not  framed  with  explicitness  to  protect  the 
rights  of  the  States.  He  had  the  sagacity  to  anticipate  fanaticism 
and  to  foresee  the  necessity  of  providing  against  reckless  construc- 
tionists.  On  organizing  the  new  Government,  he  was  elected  to 
the  United  States  Senate,  where  he  served  until  1794.  He  was 
then  sent,  by  General  Washington,  minister  to  France. 

The  enthusiastic  manner  in  which  Mr.  Monroe  was  received  in 
France  disturbed  the  equanimity  of  the  Federalists  who  surround 
ed  General  Washington,  and  led  to  his  recall  in  1796.  Vir 
ginia,  approving  his  course,  elected  him  Governor,  to  serve  for  three 
years.  When  Mr.  Jefferson  came  into  office,  and  set  on  foot  the 


104:  DEMOCRACY   IN   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

acquisition  of  Louisiana,  lie  appointed  Mr.  Monroe  minister  plen 
ipotentiary  and  envoy  extraordinary  to  France,  to  aid  Robert  R. 
Livingston,  our  resident  minister  there,  in  securing  that  invaluable 
acquisition.  They  succeeded.  He  was  subsequently  sent  to  Eng 
land,  then  to  Spain,  and  then  back  to  England,  in  diplomatic  ca 
pacities. 

It  was  on  one  of  his  missions  to  France  that  Mr.  Monroe 
brought  with  him  on  his  return  his  household  furniture,  which 
was  subsequently  purchased  as  a  portion  of  that  used  in  the  Presi 
dent's  mansion,  including  the  supposed  gold  knives,  forks,  and 
spoons,  which  figured  so  largely  as  political  capital  when  Mr.  Van 
Buren  was  nominated  for  reelection,  and  which  have  since  so  mys 
teriously  disappeared. 

In  1811  Mr.  Monroe  was  again  elected  Governor  of  Virginia, 
which  office  he  held  until  appointed  by  Mr.  Madison  Secretary  of 
State,  on  the  resignation  of  Mr.  Smith,  November  26,  1811.  Dur 
ing  the  absence  of  General  Armstrong,  the  Secretary  of  War,  he 
also  had  charge  of  the  Department  of  "War.  He  was  considered 
the  best  business  man  in  Mr.  Madison's  cabinet.  He  was  nomi 
nated  by  a  caucus  of  Democratic  members  over  Governor  Tomp- 
kins,  in  1816,  for  the  presidency,  running  with  the  latter  as  Vice- 
President,  receiving  183  votes  over  Rufus  King,  the  Federal  can 
didate,  who  obtained  only  34,  being  those  of  Massachusetts,  Ver 
mont,  and  Delaware.  Both  were  reflected  in  1820,  Mr.  Monroe 
receiving  every  electoral  vote  but  one,  out  of  the  9  in  New  Hamp 
shire,  and  Tompkins  all  but  8  in  Massachusetts. 

We  shall  speak  of  his  administration  and  events  occurring  dur 
ing  it  in  another  place.  Mr.  Monroe  died  in  New  York  in  1831, 
and,  like  Adams  and  Jefferson,  on  the  4th  of  July,  our  national 
jubilee. 

53.— THE  ERA  OF  GOOD  FEELIXG. 

From  the  election  of  Mr.  Jefferson  to  the  close  of  Mr.  Madi 
son's  administration,  the  contest  between  the  anti-Democratic  party 
and  the  Democracy,  each  in  support  of  its  principles,  had  been 
carried  on  with  unyielding  vigor.  Superior  talent  had  been  called 
into  activity  on  each  side.  The  names  Federalist  and  Republican 


THE  EKA  OF  GOOD  FEELING.  105 

won:  unmeaning,  temporary,  designations,  applied  to  parties  repre 
senting  great  and  enduring  principles.  All  were  Federalists,  all 
were  Republicans.  The  contest  related  to  the  supremacy  of  prin 
ciples  which  should  control  the  action  of  Government — whether 
the  people  should  rule,  or  be  ruled — whether  man  should  be  pro 
tected  in  the  pursuit  of  happiness,  or  forced  to  travel  a  road  as 
sumed  to  be  best  by  others,  whenever  they  had  the  power  to  dic 
tate'.  Every  point  of  controversy,  when  traced  to  its  true  original 
source,  will  be  found  concentrated  here.  The  controversy  had  been 
long  and  obstinate,  often  productive  of  great  violence  and  bitter 
ness  of  feeling.  The  Federalists  secured  the  aid  of  foreign  sym 
pathy  and  that  of  men  who  had  dedicated  their  lives  to  the  ser 
vice  of  God,  and  were  selected  as  teachers  to  point  out  the  paths 
leading  to  heaven  and  eternal  happiness.  They  used  the  name  of 
religion  in  promoting  the  objects  of  politicians.  Instead  of  charity 
and  brotherly  love,  they  preached  death  and  destruction  to  Demo 
crats.  It  is  true  they  loved  their  enemies,  because  they  loved  Great 
Britain,  but  they  preached  hatred  toward  their  own  countrymen, 
of;en  their  own  flesh  and  blood,  where  they  did  not  fall  down  and 
worship  the  same  political  idol.  They  could  sec  perfection  where 
none  existed,  and  horrid  defects  where  they  did  not  exist.  These 
men,  if  sincere,  were  monomaniacs  ;  if  otherwise,  were  hypocrites. 

Every  obstacle,  which  human  ingenuity  could  devise,  was  re 
sorted  to  by  the  Federal  party  to  defeat  the  embargo  and  non- 
intercourse  measures,  and  to  render  the  war  destructive  to.  our 
national  and  individual  interests,  and  to  subject  us  to  Great  Britain. 
For  the  time,  England  thought  the  Federalists  their  friends  and 
v.'illing  aiders  in  our  national  degradation.  She  mistook  the  demon 
strations  of  the  noisy  for  the  approving  voice  of  the  masses,  who 
were  honest,  but  misled  by  those  professing  to  represent  our  heaven 
ly  Father,  and  the  true  principles  of  Government. 

The  instinctive  acts  of  Federalism  had  sunk  that  party  below 
all  possible  hope  of  resurrection.  The  war  had  ended  in  New  Or 
leans  in  the  cheering,  bright  lights  of  glory;  the  Administration 
of  Madison  had  won  a  renown  which  time  could  not  affect,  and 
the  nation  an  elevated  position,  recognized  by  the  world,  which 
could  not  be  questioned.  Although  too  proud  formally  to  admit 


106  DEMOCRACY   IN    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

our  claims  of"  free  trade  and  sailors'  rights,"  still  Great  Britain  has 
not  since  attempted  to  violate  them.  The  Democracy  was  triumph 
ant,  and  the  Federalists  had  no  grounds  to  stand  upon  when  com 
peting  for  public  favor.  The  rank  and  file  had  left  their  leaders. 

It  was  at  this  point  that  the  Federalists  declared  that  there 
existed  an  "  era  of  good  feeling,"  which  should  induce  among 
Democrats  a  forgiveness  of  past  Federal  sins,  by  receiving  them 
into  full  fellowship,  like  those  who  had  spent  their  lives  in  defend 
ing  and  enforcing  Democratic  principles.  This  was  acceded  to, 
when  the  evidence  warranted  the  belief  of  sincere  conviction  and 
repentance,  where  they  were  deemed  certain  and  conclusive.  But 
it  was  apparent  to  all  close  observers  that  the  Federal  leaders 
cherished,  at  heart,  the  principles  for  which  they  had  so  long  and 
so  vigorously  contended.  Their  national  organization  appeared 
to  be  disbanded,  but  was  preserved  in  States  where  hopes  of  future 
ascendency  existed.  No  opportunity  for  securing  a  Federalist  in 
a  particular  county  or  district  was  lost.  But  all  hope  of  soon 
controlling  the  national  Government  had  disappeared.  While  the 
record  of  their  party  remained,  there  could  be  no  expectation  of 
their  future  success,  by  their  own  name  and  the  avowal  of  their 
principles.  Their  fate  was  sealed.  A  disavowal  of  their  princi 
ples  and  a  change  of  name  were  necessary  to  future  success.  This 
was  readily  done,  at  no  distant  day,  as  we  shall  hereafter  show. 
It  was  our  good  fortune  to  hear  the  eloquent  Elisha  Williams,  of 
Columbia  County,  N.  Y.,  in  the  last  year  of  his  life,  pass  an  af 
fectionate  eulogy  upon  the  extinct  party  and  its  principles,  and 
feelingly  denounce  those  who  had  once  been  proud  of  them,  for 
an  ignominious  desertion  of  them,  leaving  him  alone,  in  his  old 
age,  as  the  sole  representative  of  both,  who  had  the  courage  and 
manliness  to  openly  avow  them.  The  defence  of  himself,  and  the 
rebuke  administered  to'those  who  had  abandoned  him,  was  a  most 
eloquent  and  happy  effort,  although  it  failed  to  have  any  clfect 
upon  those  against  whom  it  was  aimed.  The  Federalists  have 
never  resumed  their  former  name,  new  ones  promising  better  suc 
cess.  Tho  era  of  professed  good  feeling  soon  ended,  and  \vas  suc 
ceeded  by  as  bitter  contests  as  were  ever  waged  by  the  old  Federal 
party  when  it  was  the  strongest. 


THE  MONROE  DOCTRINE.  107 

54.— THE  MONROE  DOCTRINE. 

All  South,  and  part  of  North  America,  Lad  long  been  held  as 
Spanish  and  Portuguese  provinces.  Before  Mr.  Monroe  became 
President  these  provinces  rebelled  against  Spain,  and  set  up  gov- 
errments  of  their  own,  which  they  were  able  to  maintain  if  they 
competed  with  the  mother-country  alone.  To  enable  them  the 
more  easily  to  control  at  home  and  among  themselves,  several 
European  governments  formed  a  combination,  which  they  chris 
tened  the  "  Holy  Alliance."  This  alliance  dictated  to  European  gov 
ernments  wherever  it  dared,  and  had  the  power  to  compel  obedi 
ence.  While  those  composing  it  confined  their  acts  to  their  own 
countries  and  to  their  immediate  neighbors,  our  country  neither  felt 
alarm,  nor  took  exception  to  their  acts.  It  mattered  noijiing  to  us 
if  they  issued  mandates,  and  others  chose  to  obey.  Our  Govern 
ment  had  no  cognizance  of  the  matter,  however  much  it  doubted 
tl.c  legitimacy  of  the  whole  proceeding.  It  was  their  business, 
not  ours.  But  they  soon  turned  their  attention  to  the  American 
Continent.  Spain  could  not  regain  control  over  her  provinces 
without  help  from  Europe ;  and  the  propriety  of  extending  aid  to 
her  soon  became  a  subject  of  discussion,  which  our  Government 
feared  might  ripen  into  action.  These  provinces,  now  republics,  had 
en ught  to  follow  our  precedent  in  establishing  new  governments. 
They  naturally  looked  to  us  for  countenance,  if  not  for  active 
support.  When  their  governments  had  assumed  regular  form, 
our  Government  promptly  recognized  them  as  belonging  to  the 
family  of  nations.  This  added  to  their  moral  strength.  Further, 
it  was  neither  right  nor  politic  for  us  to  go.  The  "  Holy  Alli 
ance  "  had  interposed  by  force  in  Spain  to  determine  who  should 
L'ule  there.  They  might  go  further,  and  attempt  to  dictate  in  the 
new  South  American  states.  The  American  feeling  was  aroused. 
Mr.  Monroe,  in  his  annual  message  in  1823,  spoke  for  our  people, 
lie  said : 

"  The  late  events  in  Spain  and  Portugal  show  that  Europe  is 
still  unsettled.  Of  this  important  feet  no  stronger  proof  can  be 
adduced  than  that  the  allied  powers  have  thought  proper,  on  a 
principle  satisfactory  to  themselves,  to  have  interposed  by  force 


108  DEMOCRACY   IN   THE    UNITED   STATES. 

in  the  internal  concerns  of  Spain.  To  what  extent  such  interpo 
sition  may  be  carried,  on  the  same  principle,  is  a  question  to 
which  all  independent  powers,  whose  governments  diner  from 
theirs,  are  interested,  even  those  most  remote,  and  surely  none 
more  so  than  the  United  States.  Our  policy  in  regard  to  Europe, 
which  was  adopted  at  an  early  stage  of  the  wars  which  have  so 
long  agitated  that  quarter  of  the  globe,  nevertheless,  remains  the 
same,  which  is,  not  to  interfere  in  the  internal  concerns  of  any  of 
its  powers;  to  consider  the  government  de  facto  as  the  legitimate 
government  for  us ;  to  cultivate  friendly  relations  with  it,  and  to 
preserve  those  relations  by  a  frank,  firm,  and  manly  policy; 
meeting,  in  all  instances,  the  just  claims  of  every  power,  and  sub 
mitting  to  injuries  from  none.  But  in  regard  to  these  continents, 
circumstances  are  eminently  and  conspicuously  different.  It  is 
impossible  that  the  allied  powers  should  extend  their  political 
system  to  any  portion  of  either  continent  without  endangering 
our  peace  and  happiness;  nor  can  any  one  believe  that  our 
Southern  brethren,  if  left  to  themselves,  would  adopt  it  of  their 
own  accord.  It  is  equally  impossible,  therefore,  that  we  should 
behold  such  interposition,  in  any  form,  with  indifference" 

This  message  and  the  action  in  Congress  had  the  effect  of 
preventing  the  interposition  of  the  "  Holy  Alliance  "  in  American 
affairs.  The  independence  of  these  new  states  soon  became  rec 
ognized  by  other  governments,  and  are  now  flourishing  repub 
lics,  and  their  people  left  free  to  govern  themselves  and  pursue 
their  own  happiness  in  their  own  way.  In  Europe  this  part  of 
the  message  commanded  great  attention.  Its  author  and  our 
country  challenged  high  respect.  The  new  states  have  ever  been 
our  fast  friends.  So  important,  in  the  public  estimation,  were 
the  words  we  have  quoted,  that,  to  the  present  day,  they  arc 
known  and  referred  to  as  "The  Monroe  Doctrine." 

55.— BANKS  AND  BAXKIXG  IX  NEW  YORK 

Banks  of  discount  and  deposit  are  a  great  convenience  to 
those  engaged  in  trade  and  commerce.  They  enable  persons  hav 
ing  good  business  paper  to  anticipate  its  payment.  The  holder 
sells,  and  the  bank  buys  it.  If  the  maker  is  good  and  performs 


BANKS  AND  BANKING  IN  NEW  YOEK.         109 

his  duty,  the  transaction  .is  ended  when  it  is  begun.  Making 
paper  to  sell  is  simply  a  'means  of  borrowing,  and  differs  essen 
tially  from  anticipating  existing  means.  "When  banks  of  issue 
obtained  a  footing  in  New  York,  the  Legislature  of  the  State  fre 
quently  disgraced  itself  in  granting  charters,  some  of  which  were 
obtained  through  bribery,  and  nearly  all  under  lobby  pressure. 
The  system  of  free  banking  relieved  the  Legislature  from  importu 
nities  for  bank  charters.  But  that  did  not  relieve  the  State  from 
the  disgrace  of  having  enacted  a  law  favorable  to  banks  and  inju- 
ri.ous  to  freedom  in  business.  In  1804  the  Legislature  passed 
what  was  called  a  "restraining  act,"  which  gave  the  incorporated 
tanks  a  monopoly  of  the  business  of  discounting  notes.  It  made 
it  a  penal  offence  to  contribute  capital  to  any  company  or  associ 
ation  to  be  used  in  making  discounts,  or  transacting  any  other 
business  which  banks  usually  transact,  or  to  receive  money  on 
deposit,  and  declared  all  notes  and  securities  received  in  such 
business  to  be  void.  This  act,  so  utterly  in  conflict  with  demo 
cratic  principles,  the  banks  were  able  to  retain  on  the  statute- 
book  until  1837.  Mr.  Van  Buren,  when  in  the  State  Senate  in 
1814,  brought  in  a  bill  to  repeal  this  restraint  upon  the  freedom 
of  business  where  no  injury  could  arise  to  the  public  interests. 
But  the  bank  interest,  so  easily  concentrated,  was  too  strong  to 
be  overcome,  and  his  bill  was  defeated.  This  restraining  act  was 
intended  to  confer  upon  the  incorporated  banks  the  monopoly  of 
making  discounts  and  doing  other  banking  business.  At  the 
time  of  its  enactment,  there  were  but  six  banks  in  the  State,  three 
in  the  city  of  New  York,  one  in  Albany,  one  in  Hudson,  and  one 
at  Waterford,  Lansingburg,  and  Troy.  These  six  banks  had  the 
power  in  the  Legislature  to  drive  out  all  competition  in  business, 
and  for  a  long  time  to  prevent  the  incorporation  of  a  competitor. 
The  banks  continued  their  monopoly  of  the  business  of  banking 
until  1837,  when  every  bank  but  one  in  the  State  had  suspended 
specie  payments,  which  resulted  in  the  free  banking  system  of 
the  next  year.  Whatever  political  appellation  those  voting  for 
the  act  of  1804  might  have  borne,  the  principles  of  it  were  anti 
democratic,  and  of  the  most  objectionable  character,  and  unwor 
thy  of  the  approval  of  any  Democrat.  The  public  could  not  pos- 


110  DEMOCRACY   IN   THE   UNITED    STATES. 

sibly  suffer  if  a  man  having  money  should  discount  notes  and 
buy  and  sell  exchange,  nor  was  there  any  legitimate  object  ac 
complished  by  declaring  notes  and  securities  he  might  receive  to 
be  null  and  void. 

50.— THE  ACQUISITION  OF  FLORIDA. 

Mr.  Monroe  is  entitled  to  the  credit  of  acquiring  Florida — the 
Land  of  Flowers.  After  we  acquired  Louisiana,  this  territory  was 
entirely  disconnected  with  any  Spanish  or  foreign  possession  of 
any  European  government.  Owing  to  the  great  extent  of  waste 
land,  the  settlement  of  it  had  been  slow  and  very  limited.  To 
Spain  it  was  hardly  worth  governing.  Her  policy  in  settling  her 
American  possessions  partook  of  the  character  of  extreme  liberali 
ty  to  the  settler.  He  asked  for  land,  described  what  he  wanted, 
stated  his  ability  and  intention  to  use  it  for  a  definite  purpose, 
and  the  governor  made  the  grant  and  some  official  put  him  in 
possession.  He  paid  nothing  but  officers'  fees.  The  better  parts 
of  Florida  had  been  thus  granted.  Court  favorites  had  also 
acquired  large  grants  by  special  royal  favor.  Hence  that  peninsula 
was  of  little  intrinsic  value  to  the  mother-country,  and  hence  her 
willingness  to  sell.  The  purchase  was  useful  to  us.  It  had  been 
the  headquarters  of  pirates  and  other  vicious  men,  some  of  whom 
urged  the  Southern  Indians  to  aggressions  upon  the  whites  within 
our  limits.  General  Jackson  chased  these  desperate  men  to  St. 
Mark's  and  Pensacola,  and  inflicted  summary  justice  upon  them. 
To  prevent  all  future  difficulties,  Spain  wisely  concluded  to  sell 
and  we  to  buy.  But  the  treaty  contained  one  costly  error.  Our 
Louisiana  purchase  clearly  extended  to  the  Rio  del  Norte.  In 
defining  our  boundary  on  the  west  side  of  Louisiana  our  negotia 
tor  consented  to  make  the  Sabine  River  the  boundary,  thus  giv 
ing  Spain  all  between  the  latter  and  the  former,  being  the  whole 
of  Texas,  worth  twenty  times  as  much  as  Florida,  though  then 
doubtless  thought  of  little  value.  The  effort  to  bring  this  Texas 
region  back  into  the  Union  was  the  chief  cause  of  our  war  with 
Mexico.  The  acquisition  of  Florida  has  been,  on  the  whole,  of 
vast  importance  to  us.  It  is  far  better  to  own  it,  than  to  have  a 
foreign  government  for  a  neighbor.  We  can  far  better  protect 
our  people. 


KEMAKKS,    ETC.  Ill 

57.— REMARKS  ON  MR.  MONROE'S  ADMINISTRATION. 

Mr.  Monroe  was  a  superior  Executive  officer,  and  he  had  the 
good  fortune  to  call  about  him  several  very  able  men  as  advisers 
and  assistants.  John  Quincy  Adam?,  William  II.  Crawford, 
John  C.  Calhoun,  B.  W.  Crowninshield,  and  William  Wirt  were 
able  men.  The  general  business  of  the  Government  was  well 
conducted.  He  took  responsibility  without  hesitation  and  with 
out  a  murmur.  It  was  his  purpose  to  carry  out  the  principles  of 
Jefferson,  Madison,  and  the  Democratic  party.  In  judging  of 
mankind  he  committed  one  o'reat  mistake.  He  thought  that  the 

c?  O 

"  era  of  good  feeling,"  as  it  was  called,  had  a  solid  foundation  to 
rjst  upon,  and  that  Government  could  exist  without  political  par 
ties,  forming  and  dividing  on  principle.  Such  a  view  is  pleasant 
to  contemplate,  but  can  never  practically  be  of  long  continuance. 
Men  never  did  and  never  will  think  alike  upon  questions  affecting 
the  public  interest.  Some  will  be  selfish  and  others  not.  Some 
will  judge  wisely  and  others  foolishly.  Some  will  ever  seek  to 
govern,  while  others  are  only  satisfied  when  all  participate  in 
public  an  airs.  The  affairs  of  Government  would  soon  go  wrong, 
if  there  were  no  sentinels  to  point  out  dangers.  Each  party  is  a 
watch  upon  the  other,  calling  attention  to  the  practical  operation 
of  whatever  is  done  or  proposed. 

Mr.  Monroe  had  seen  the  Federal  party  drop  out  of  sight,  and 
seemed  to  think  that  party  spirit  went  with  it.  But  he  lived  to 
see  sorry  consequences  of  this  error.  Before  he  left  office  he 
saw  the  Democratic  party  torn  by  dissensions  and  shattered  into 
fragments.  He  saw,  in  his  own  cabinet,  three  aspirants  for  his 
seat,  another  in  the  House  of  Representatives,  and  another  at  the 
Hermitage  in  Tennessee,  each  claiming  to  be  the  better  Democrat, 
and  to  be  the  most  fit  to  become  his  successor.  He  saw,  too, 
that  this  disruption  of  the  Democratic  party  induced  the  Federal 
party,  under  another  name,  to  rally  in  support  of  the  one  who  sat 
nearest  him  at  the  council-board,  and  to  organize  a  party  which 
has  under  some  name  opposed  the  Democratic  party  and  its  prin 
ciples,  with  this  gentleman  as  an  active  leader.  The  success  of 
Mr.  Monroe  in  1820,  though  gratifying  indeed,  proved  that  a 


112  DEMOCRACY   IN   THE   UNITED    STATES. 

victory,  won  where  there  was  neither  battle  nor  contest,  is  usually 
ruinous  to  the  victor  by  the  consequence  it  entails.  The  contest 
of  1824  was  sufficiently  terrible  to  make  up  for  the  absence  of 
any  in  1820.  The  people  gave  neither  candidate  a  majority. 
Jackson  had  99,  Adams  84,  Crawford  41,  and  Clay  37  votes. 
The  House  of  Representatives,  voting  by  States,  elected  from  the 
three  who  had  the  most  votes.  Instead  of  devoting  themselves 
to  the  business  of  legislation,  the  attention  of  members  seemed 
mostly  engrossed  in  President-making.  Bargains  and  corruptions 
were  freely  charged  upon  each,  and,  whether  true  or  not,  the 
reputation  of  that  Congress,  at  home  and  abroad,  suffered  much 
from  the  election  in  the  House.  It  is  understood  that,  before  his 
death,  Mr.  Monroe  arrived  at  the  conclusion  that,  if  it  were  pos 
sible,  it  would  not  be  best  to  try  to  banish  political  parties  from 


58.— THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  CONSTITUTIONS  OF  1821  AND  1S-1G. 

New  York  formed  her  first  constitution  the  year  after  the 
Declaration  of  Independence.  It  prescribed  a  property  qualifica 
tion  for  those  voting  for  Governor  and  Senators.  All  appoint 
ments,  down  to  the  county  magistrates,  were  made  by  the  Gov 
ernor.  The  Governor,  Chancellor,  and  Judges  of  the  Supreme 
Court  constituted  a  Council  of  Revision,  holding  the  veto-power. 
There  was  also  a  Council  of  Appointment,  consisting  of  one  Sen 
ator  from  each  of  the  Senate  districts,  to  be  selected  by  the  As 
sembly  annually.  Thus  all  power  was  concentrated  in  a  few 
hands  at  the  State  capital.  The  Democracy  of  the  State  consid 
ered  these  and  some  other  provisions  as  anti-Democratic,  and 
wished  them  changed.  The  Federalists  were  decidedly  opposed 
to  it,  and  resorted  to  various  efforts  to  prevent  the  call  of  a  con 
vention.  When  the  law  authorizing  it  had  passed,  notwith 
standing  the  recent  lull  in  politics,  the  Federalists  threw  into 
the  convention  as  many  of  their  ablest  partisans  as  they  could 
elect,  but  failed  in  commanding  a  majority  of  the  delegates. 
The  convention  was  the  great  battle-ground  for  the  ascend 
ency  of  political  principles.  Columbia  County,  where  Mr.  Van 
Buren  resided,  was  then  anti-Democratic.  To  secure  the  scr- 


ETC.  113 

ices  of  tliis  popular  Democratic  leader,  Otsego  County  elected 
hiir.  one  of  her  five  delegates.  The  best  talent  in  the  State  was 
fomd  in  this  convention.  Governor  Tompkins  was  made  presi 
dent  of  it. 

The  anti-Democrats,  though  not  seriously  objecting  to  some 
modifications  of  the  old  constitution;  were  unwilling  to  submit 
to  'che  radical  changes  proposed  by  the  Democrats.  They  were 
satisfied  with  the  arrangement  of  the  courts,  the  appointing 
power,  and  the  restricted  elective  franchise.  The  Democrats  were 
not  satisfied  with  either.  Under  the  old  system,  the  judges  of 
the  Supreme  Court,  generally  twice  a  year,  visited  every  county 
in  the  State,  to  hold  Circuit  and  Oyer  and  Terrain er  Courts.  They 
formed  the  acquaintance  of  the  bar,  sheriffs,  clerks,  local  judges, 
and  leading  men,  and  especially  of  their  own  party,  and  became 
their  organ,  with  the  appointing  power  at  the  capital.  This  made 
them,  in  fact,  the  agents  of  their  party  in  political  matters.  Their 
influence  was  potent  both  at  Albany  and  in  the  counties.  The 
appointing  powrer  owed  no  responsibility  to  the  voters.  Removals 
and  appointments  sometimes  so  surprised  the  people,  that  they 
often  imputed  bad  motives  to  men  in  high  places,  and  stigmatized 
tlieir  acts  as  "  political  jugglery."  They  could  not  well  fathom 
fiie  motives  of  the  actors,  and,  where  they  could  not  understand 
them,  they  were  more  apt  to  condemn  than  approve.  They  could 
not  comprehend  why  the  owner  of  real  estate  was  more  competent 
or  better  entitled  to  vote  for  Governor  and  Senator  than  one  of 
equal  intelligence  who  had  none. 

The  Democrats  set  themselves  to  wort  to  get  rid  of  these  ob 
jectionable  features,  and  substitute  others  which  should  bring 
home  to  the  people  the  business  of  self-government.  The  old 
judicial  system  was  mainly  swept  away,  and  a  new  one  instituted, 
providing  a  Court  of  Chancery,  to  be  held  at  the  capital,  a  Su 
preme  Court  to  perform  only  duties  in  bank,  and  eight  circuit 
judges  to  hold  courts  to  try  issues  of  fact  in  the  counties,  and 
who  were  also  to  act  as  vice-chancellors  in  their  districts.  This 
rendered  the  judges  politically  powerless.  It  left  no  cords  bind 
ing  the  judges  and  the  county  politicians  together.  The  council 
of  appointment  was  stricken  down,  and  the  judges,  masters  in 


114:  DEMOCRACY   IN   THE    UNITED    STATES. 

chancery,  surrogates,  and  some  other  minor  officers  were  to  be 
appointed  by  the  Governor,  with  the  consent  of  the  Senate. 
Sheriffs  were  made  elective,  and  clerks  and  district  attorneys  were 
appointed  by  the  courts.  The  justices  of  the  peace  were  first  di 
rected  to  be  appointed  by  the  Board  of  Supervisors,  but  subse 
quently  made  elective  by  the  towns.  The  freehold  qualification 
was  abolished,  so  that  every  man  could  participate  in  practical 
self-government.  Militia  officers  were  made  elective,  the  company 
officers  by  the  privates,  and  all  above,  by  commissioned  officers, 
and  the  State  officers  by  the  Legislature.  The  seat  of  political 
power  was  changed  from  the  State  capital  to  the  counties.  The 
masses  became  more  powerful  and  were  felt  in  the  affairs  of  state. 
Formerly,  if  they  had  wishes  upon  political  subjects,  they  could 
not  make  themselves  heard,  to  any  considerable  extent,  but  now 
they  can  command  attention  and  force  respect  from  political  lead 
ers.  Formerly  the  question  was,  "  What  will  the  political  manager 
say  ? "  now,  "  What  will  the  people  say  ? "  In  practice,  we  began  to 
carry  out  self-government.  The  battle  was  long,  and  every  inch 
of  ground  closely  contested,  but  the  victory  was  won.  The  work 
so  well  begun  in  1821  was  extended  in  1846,  so  that  nearly  every 
.  officer  in  the  State  is  made  elective  by  immediate  constituents. 
Every  school  district,  town,  county,  Assembly,  Senate,  and  Su 
preme  Court  district,  transacts  its  own  business,  appointing  its 
own  agents.  The  Governor,  Lieutenant-Governor,  State  officers, 
Canal  Commissioners,  and  Judges  of  the  Court  of  Appeals — all 
are  elective  by  the  common  voters.  The  people,  in  their  sovereign 
capacity  of  electors,  in  nearly  all  their  business,  nominate  and 
elect  their  own  agents,  and  hold  them  accountable  for  their  trust. 
If  they  are  indifferent,  or  unwise,  and  select  weak,  incompetent, 
or  dishonest  agents,  the  punishment  falls  upon  them  alone.  They 
have  no  one  to  complain  of.  The  man  who  thinks  he  can  select 
one  agent  that  will  be  more  wise  and  honest  than  himself  in  ap 
pointing  another,  pays  himself  a  poor  compliment.  This  theory 
was  incorporated  into  the  national  Constitution,  in  appointing 
electors  of  President  and  Vice-President,  but  has  not  once  been 
practically  carried  out.  Those  selecting  the  electors  have,  in  all 
cases,  done  so  with  a  full  understanding  as  to  who  they  would 


THE   NEW   YOKK    STATE    CONSTITUTIONS,   ETC.  115 

vote  for.     An  elector  of  President  who  should  cheat  the  people 
in  giving  his  vote,  would  soon  be  politically  crucified. 

It  has  been  made  a  question  whether  an  elective  judiciary  is 
as  s-afe  and  appropriate  as  one  appointed  by  an  Executive,  with 
the  consent  of  one  branch  of  the  Legislature.  It  is  feared  that  it 
TV  ill  assume  a  partisan  character,  and  make  bad  decisions,  to  secure 
reelection.  A  man  of  only  small  common-sense,  seeking  a  reelec 
tion,  would  prefer  to  go  before  the  people  upon  his  good  rather  than 
hie  bad  decisions.  The  judiciary,  who  make  their  decisions,  after 
argument,  before  the  assembled  public,  and  assign  their  reasons 
for  them,  are  not  likely  knowingly  to  make  bad  ones  to  be  dis 
cussed  at  an  election,  or  otherwise.  If  they  do  so,  the  remedy  is 
with  the  voters.  Whoever  expects  that  Governors,  who  are  elected 
as  partisans,  and  are  sustained  by  party,  will  nominate  for  judicial 
office  men  who  are  not  distinguished  by  their  party  position,  and 
wuo  are  without  party  feelings,  may  read  his  disappointment  in 
tl  e  history  of  the  past.  A  Governor  who  would  not  reward  his 
friends,  would  soon  be  without  friends  to  sustain  him.  All  men 
are  partisans,  though  in  different  ways  and  degrees.  Recent  his 
tory  teaches  us,  that  diamonds,  and  other  presents,  have  exerted 
an  influence  in  relation  to  high  appointments.  One  seeks  place, 
another  profit,  and  another  power  and  notoriety.  Even  the  vener 
ated  Marshall  was  an  ardent  partisan.  Not  a  judge  on  the  United 
States  Supreme  Court  bench,  from  the  gentle,  firm,  and  honest 
«Tay  to  Chief-Justice  Chase — a  recognized  candidate  for  the  presi 
dency — has  been  appointed  who  was  not,  at  the  time,  an  ardent 
partisan.  The  blood  of  some,  like  Samuel  Chase,  boiled  on  the 
bench.  "Why  not  elect  expounders  of  the  law,  as  well  as  those  who 
make  and  execute  them  ?  It  is  the  plainer  and  simpler  duty. 
Men  without  partisan  feeling  cannot  be  found,  at  least  with  brains 
enough  to  distinguish  between  right  and  wrong.  Few  are  so  de 
based  as  to  manifest  such  feelings  when  holding  the  scales  of  jus 
tice  between  man  and  man.  Men  are  the  same  whether  appointed 
or  elected.  They  have  their  passions  and  weaknesses,  which  they 
cannot  always  control.  Of  all  the  judges  in  our  country  who 
have  been  impeached,  not  one  had  been  elected  by  the  people. 
We  prefer  the  broadest  possible  use  of  the  elective  principle,  be- 


116  DEMOCRACY   IN   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

cause  it  is  the  broadest  self-government — because  it  comes  home 
to  the  people  for  their  decision,  which  they  are  competent  to 
make. 

Once  a  year  the  people  cast  about  to  see  what  agents  they 
have  to  select — they  nominate — warm  up — talk  loud,  and  compare 
the  merits  of  candidates — and  then  vote.  The  election  being 
over,  the  warmed-up  feelings  subside,  and  the  voter  falls  into  his 
accustomed  track.  He  has  had  his  say,  whether  successful  or  not, 
and  is  bound  to  be  content.  If  successful,  he  is  satisfied ;  but  if 
beaten,  he  counts  upon  doing  better  next  time.  In  a  week  after 
election  all  excitement  passes  away ;  and  the  people,  proud  in  the 
protection  which  our  institutions  afford  them,  move  on,  seeking 
to  be  as  happy  as  the  condition  of  man  will  permit.  Such  is  the 
effect  of  the  free  play  of  democratic  principles.  If  unfortunate 
consequences  ever  result  by  following  them,  they  will  not  be 
traceable  to  them,  but  to  the  imperfection  of  man  and  the  infirmity 
of  human  nature  itself. 

69.— THE  NEW  YORK  ELECTORAL  LAW,  1824. 

The  national  Constitution  left  it  open  to  the  States  to  select 
their  own  mode  of  designating  presidential  electors.  Most  of 
the  States,  and  New  York  among  them,  had  confided  this  duty  to 
the  State  Legislature.  William  II.  Crawford,  of  Georgia,  then 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  had  been  nominated,  like  Jefferson, 
Madison,  and  Monroe,  by  a  caucus  of  Democratic  members  of 
Congress.  This  nomination  was  treated  as  binding  upon  the  De 
mocratic  members  in  the  New  York  Legislature,  and  if  so,  electors 
favorable  to  Mr.  Crawford  would  be  appointed,  at  its  meeting. 
This  was  expected  of  them  by  those  who  elected  them.  Clay, 
Adams,  Jackson,  and  Calhoun  were  also  candidates,  variously 
brought  before  the  public,  though  the  last  was  early  settled  upon 
as  a  common  candidate  for  the  vice-presidency.  General  Jackson 
had  little  strength  in  New  York.  The  only  hope  on  the  part  of 
Clay's  and  Adams's  friends  was  based  upon  an  expected  change  of 
the  old  law  which  had  existed  since  1789.  They  went  before  the 
people,  and  aroused  a  warm  feeling  on  the  part  of  all  opposed  to 
Crawford,  and  a  change  in  the  electoral  law  was  demanded  of  the 


TILE    NEW   YORK    ELECTORAL    LAW.  117 

Legislature.  There  was  no  difficulty,  when  the  question  came  up 
in  the  Legislature,  in  arguing  that  it  was  desirable  to  change 
from  appointment  by  that  body  to  election  by  the  people, 
although  a  change  at  that  time,  under  the  circumstances,  looked 
like  a  fraud  upon  Mr.  Crawford.  But  beyond  that  there  were 
other  material  questions  upon  which  opinions  differed.  One  class 
said,  "Elect  by  districts,"  and  another,  "By  a  general  ticket;" 
another  claimed  that  "  a  majority  of  all  the  votes  given  should  be 
necessary  to  a  choice,"  and  another  "that  a  plurality  should  be 
sufficient."  Neither  plan  commanded  a  majority  of  votes  in  the 
Senate.  Eventually  the  bill  was  postponed  and  the  Legislature  ad 
journed  without  agreeing  upon  any  change  in  the  old  law.  The 
partisans  of  Clay  and  Adams  soon  passed  fever-heat,  reaching  a 
boiling  temperature.  Governor  Yates  convened  the  Legislature, 
and  it  immediately  adjourned,  accomplishing  nothing.  The  Legis 
lature  eventually  appointed  electors  who  gave  a  divided  vote — 
Adams  26,  Crawford  5,  Clay  4,  and  Jackson  1. 

Among  those  voting  to  postpone  the  bill,  after  failing  to  agree 
upon  any  mode  of  electing,  was  Silas  Wright,  who  was  denounced, 
burned  in  effigy,  and  subjected  to  numerous  insults.  These 
things  turned  the  attention  of  the  people  to  a  modest,  sincere, 
and  honest  young  man,  who  profited  more  than  he  was  injured 
by  such  exhibitions  of  violence. 

In  this  struggle,  New  York  gave  only  sixteen  effective  votes. 
The  next  Legislature  adopted  the  district  and  plurality  system, 
and  at  the  election  in  1828  gave  Jackson  20  and  Adams  16  votes, 
thus  giving  only  4  effective  votes.  This  act  gave  satisfaction  to 
no  one;  and  the  next  Legislature,  by  common  consent,  adopted 
the  general  ticket  and  plurality  system,  under  which,  at  the  presi 
dential  election  of  1832,  General  Jackson  received  the  whole  42 
votes  to  which  the  State  was  then  entitled. 

The  attempt  to  change  the  electoral  law,  on  the  eve  of  an 
election,  to  promote  the  interest  of  one  candidate  and  defeat 
another,  occasioned  much  excitement,  and  in  the  end  elevated 
those  it  designed  to  cruali,  while  sober  experience  has  settled  the 
whole  matter  in  a  rational  and  sensible  manner. 

It  would,  in  our  estimation,  improve  the  national  Constitution 


118  DEMOCEACY   IX   THE    UNITED   STATES. 

if  the  people  could  vote  directly  for  President  and  Vice-President, 
and  save  the  States  the  legal  formalities  and  expense  occasioned 
by  the  intervention  of  presidential  electors.  The  people  are  as 
competent  to  express  their  wishes  directly  as  through  a  repre 
sentative  agent.  These  presidential  electors,  in  no  way,  promote 
the  interests  of  the  voters  or  the  persons  voted  for,  while  they 
enlarge  the  circle  claiming  influence  in  the  distribution  of  the 
patronage  of  the  man  for  whom  they  cast  a  representative  vote. 
It  would  be  equally  as  sensible  to  provide  electors  to  elect  a  Gov 
ernor,  or  any  other  representative  man.  The  fewer  public  agents 
the  better,  and  the  more  direct  the  action  of  the  voter,  the  more 
certain  he  is  of  attaining  his  own  object.  He  should  be  his  own 
agent  as  far  as  possible.  It  simplifies  the  machine  of  government, 
which  always  improves  it. 

CO.— ADMINISTRATION   OF  JOHN   QUINCY  ADAMS. 

Mr.  Adams  was  an  extraordinary  man.  His  mind  was  won 
derful  as  a  storehouse  of  facts.  His  patriotism  and  love  of 
country  were  ardent.  He  was  educated  a  Federalist,  but  served 
long  in  a  Democratic  school.  AVhcn  not  swayed  by  prejudice  or 
passion,  his  enlarged  mind  played  fairly  and  was  well  balanced. 
His  defence  of  General  Jackson  for  the  taking  of  Pensacola  and 

O 

St.  Mark's  wras  able  and  conclusive,  as  well  as  disinterested.  His 
negotiations  'were  able,  and  often  very  skilful.  His  labors  were 
endless,  his  memory  tenacious,  and  he  delighted  to  convey 
information  to  those  in  pursuit  of  knowledge.  In  relation  to 
the  affairs  of  our  country,  he  was  an  index  to  a  whole  library. 
But  he  lacked  tact  as  a  politician,  and  did  not  understand  the 
sentiments  and  feelings  of  the  common  mind.  His  vision  had 
been  elsewhere  directed,  and  often  to  very  great  advantage.  His 
efforts  to  he  "hail  fellow  w ell  met"  were  not  spontaneous  and 
natural. 

Public  opinion  and  long  practice  had  made  caucuses  of  mem 
bers  of  Congress  a  portion  of  the  election  machinery.  It  was,  in 
1824,  the  recognized  mode  of  selecting  from  among  friends,  and 
presenting  a  party  candidate.  Three  members  of  Mr.  Monroe's 
Cabinet,  the  Speaker  of  the  House,  and  General  Jackson,  all 


ADMINISTRATION   OF   JOHN    QUINCY  ADAMS.  119 

claiming  to  be  Democrats,  were  candidates.  "Which  should  the 
Democratic  party  make  its  standard-bearer  ?  The  old  mode  of 
caucus  selection  was  repudiated  by  all  but  Mr.  Crawford.  He  re 
ceived  the  nomination  as  others  had,  for  near  a  quarter  of  a  cen 
tury,  and  which  the  Democrats  treated  as  binding.  The  others 
wore  presented  by  State  Legislatures  where  they  had  friends.  Mr. 
Adams  received  no  nomination,  deemed  binding,  from  any  politi- 
cr  1  party.  He  claimed  votes  on  the  score  of  not  being  bound  by 
the  shackles  of  party.  His  course  precluded  his  having  any  claim 
iroon  the  Democratic  party.  He  had  spurned  its  usages  and  re 
pudiated  its  action.  He  put  forth  no  platform  of  principles,  nor 
did  he  show  that  those  he  professed  were  superior  to  those  of  his 
competitors.  A  damaging  fact  was,  that  every  Federal  State  gave 
him  her  votes,  and  no  Democratic  State  gave  him  all  of  hers. 
He  failed  before  the  people,  and  was  elected  by  the  House.  He 
thus  had  the  misfortune  to  be  elected  President  with  no  party  to 
sustain  him,  though,  like  Tyler,  he  felt  the  need  of  one.  Nor  was 
lie  calculated  for  a  daring  leader  among  the  great  men  by  which 
lie  was  surrounded.  Those  who  concurred  in  his  election  could  not 
agree  upon  the  principles  which  should  govern  his  administration. 
No  great  State  had  given  him  her  electoral  vote.  The  voting 
people  and  voting  members  of  Congress  were  found  to  be  widely 
different  in  sustaining  an  administration.  Unfortunately  for  Mr. 
Adams,  most  of  his  real  strength  lay  in  New  England,  and  there 
the  old  Democrats  and  Federalists  could  not  act  cordially  together. 
Removals  and  appointments,  involving  discrimination  between 
them,  were  hazardous.  His  inaugural  message  shows  that  he 
considered  party  spirit  nearly  extirpated,  an  error  in  which  he 
could  not  long  indulge.  It  is  a  document  containing  many 
patriotic  sentiments,  with  but  one  point  specifying  practical 
policy.  He  distinctly  announced  his  approval  of  internal  im 
provements  by  the  national  Government.  On  this  a  great  battle 
was  subsequently  fought,  and  the  proposed  system  fell  dead  under 
General  Jackson's  veto. 

If  Mr.  Adams  had  had  a  party  to  sustain  him  in  the  coun 
try,  his  administration  might  have  ended  differently.  He  had 
friends,  but  not  a  party  linked  with  him  in  feeling  and  principle ; 


120  DEMOCEACY   IN   THE   UOTTED   STATES. 

and  had  had  adversaries,  all  of  whom  readily  combined  against 
him.  Proposed  internal  improvements  had  mere  interested  locali 
ties,  which  did  not  include  States  and  broad  regions.  Besides, 
the  States  were  making  the  improvements  they  desired  with  their 
own  means.  New  York,  after  once  being  refused  assistance,  when 
that  would  have  increased  the  value  and  sale  of  the  public  lands, 
had  nearly  completed  her  gigantic  canals.  Other  States  were 
activelv  progressing,  and  neither  desired  the  meddling  presence  of 
Federal  officers  not  responsible  to  them.  Besides,  the  Federal 
Treasury  was  nearly  empty,  and  our  national  debt  not  yet  paid. 
No  man,  knowing  and  appreciating  all  these  circumstances,  could 
reasonably  expect  to  succeed  on  such  an  issue.  Although  the 
public  business  was  well  discharged,  there  was  no  element  of 
popularity  about  the  administration,  while  the  people  were  sweep 
ing  along  in  swarms  to  the  standard  of  General  Jackson,  who  was 
an  avowed  Democrat,  and  so  were  his  supporters,  although  he 
was  not  a  politician,  and  had  once  left  the  Senate  because  dis 
gusted  with  the  wiles  and  tricks  of  politicians.  He  was  outspoken 
and  bold  on  political  subjects,  as  he  had  been  in  his  military  acts 
which  closed  the  war  in  splendor.  He  had  all  the  elements  of 
popularity.  The  people,  men  and  women,  love  a  bold,  sincere 
man.  We  don't  believe  there  is  an  American  woman  who  would 
stoop  so  low  as  to  marry  a  known  coward.  Jackson  touched  the 
popular  chord,  and  it  vibrated  harmoniously.  The  race  was  his. 
The  people  gave  him  178  votes  and  Mr.  Adams  83.  The  next 
time  he  ran  he  received  219  out  of  288.  While  he  professed  to 
be  a  Democrat,  Mr.  Adams  should  have  adhered  to  the  time-hon 
ored  usages  of  the  Democratic  party,  and  submitted  his  preten 
sions  to  the  arbitrament  of  his  friends,  and  if  elected  he  would 
have  had  a  party  to  sustain  him,  without  which  no  administra 
tion  can  be  strong  and  effective.  We  cherish  the  kindest  feel 
ings  toward  Mr.  Adams,  for  he  had  many  great  and  good  quali 
ties.  But  his  administration  has  left  no  great  marks  in  our 
history.  Both  before  and  after  it,  he  accomplished  more  than 
during  its  existence.  Mr.  Adams  was  born  July  11,  1767,  at 
Braintree,  Massachusetts,  and  died  in  the  House  of  Representa 
tives,  at  Washington,  February  28,  1848. 


EQUALITY,    ETC.  121 

61.— EQUALITY  THE  ONLY  HONEST  BASIS  OF  LEGISLATION. 

Natural  justice  requires  that  those  who  unite  to  form  a  gov 
ernment  should  enjoy  equality  of  rights  and  privileges  in  the 
means  of  pursuing  happiness.  They  can  never  live  together  in 
pence  and  harmony  where  this  principle  is  not  recognized  and 
acted  upon.  Envy,  jealousy,  and  strife,  must  spring  up  where  it 
is  ignored,  producing  the  most  fatal  consequences.  In  fram 
ing  our  Constitution,  its  authors  sought  to  avoid  these  evils  by 
inserting  prohibitory  clauses,  deemed  sufficient  to  meet  every 
possible  occasion,  and  secure  perfect  equality  of  rights  and  privi 
leges  through  the  whole  Union.  It  was  the  expectation  of  its 
authors,  that  whenever,  in  a  practical  question,  the  subject  came 
within  the  admitted  principle,  if  it  did  not  within  the  express 
letter  of  the  prohibiting  clause,  it  would  equally  restrain  action. 
It  was  not  the  expectation  of  our  forefathers  that  a  continued 
struggle  for  them  would  be  necessary  to  the  enjoyment  of  our 
constitutional  rights,  and  the  free  application  of  the  principle  of 
equality.  They  inserted  these  provisions  in  the  ninth  section  of 
tl  e  first  article  of  the  Constitution  : 

"  No  capitation,  or  other  direct  tax,  shall  be  laid,  unless  in 
proportion  to  the  census  or  enumeration  hereinbefore  directed  to 
b3  taken. 

"  No  tax  or  duty  shall  be  laid  on  articles  exported  from  any 
State. 

u  No  preference  shall  be  given  by  any  regulation  of  commerce 
or  revenue  to  the  ports  of  any  one  State  over  those  of  another  ; 
nor  shall  vessels  bound  to,  or  from,  one  State,  be  obliged  to  enter, 
clear,  or  pay  duties  in  another." 

These  provisions,  though  clear,  full,  and  explicit,  have  failed 
to  secure  that  equality  of  rights  contemplated.  They  have  been 
not  only  expressly  violated,  but  indirectly  circumvented  and  de 
feated.  The  promised  equality  in  the  pursuit  of  happiness,  de 
manded  by  democratic  principles,  and  intended  by  the  framers  of 
the  Constitution,  has  been  practically  defeated  by  legislation. 
Motives,  more  or  less  laudable,  are  always  assigned  when  these 
wrongs  are  perpetrated.  These  are  less  calculated  to  prove  that 
G 


122  DEMOCRACY   IN   THE   UNITED    STATES. 

they  are  not  within  the  restrictions,  than  that  they  ought  not  to 
have  been  imposed.  The  length  and  breadth  of  the  prohibitions  are 
seldom  considered,  while  the  advantages  of  the  inhibited  meas 
ure  are  broadly  put  forth.  Local  advantages  often  shed  a  broad 
light,  but  one  that  does  not  bring  into  view  the  restraining  pro 
visions  of  the  Constitution,  or  the  aggression  upon  the  rights  of 
those  at  a  distance.  It  is  our  purpose  to  refer  here  to  a  portion 
of  the  cases  where  the  rights  of  equality  have  been  violated  : 

1.  In  1799  Congress  made  provision  for  collecting  duties  at 
the  custom-houses,  and  provided  the  fees  that  the  officers  should 
be  entitled  to  receive  for  various  services,  out  of  which  their  com 
pensation  was  to  be  made.    This  law  was  general  in  its  operation, 
and  is  still  in  force  upon  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific.     These  fees 
often  amount  to  a  considerable  sum.     In  1831,  to  enable  those 
engaged  in  commerce  on  our  northern  and  northwestern  frontier 
to  compete  with  British  interests,  these  fees  were  all  abolished, 
and  a  salary,  equal  to  their  former  amount,  provided  for  the  col 
lectors.     Hence,  by  a  regulation  of  commerce,  the  ports  of  entry 
of  States  in  that  part  of  our  country,  have,  to  the  extent  of  these 
fees,  an  advantage  over  the  other  States.     This  shows  a  practical 
inequality.      An  appropriate  remedy  would  be  to  promote  the  in 
terests  of  trade  by  abolishing  all  custom-house  fees.     The  Gov 
ernment  says  to  the  importer,  "Pay  us  duties,"  which  he  does,  and 
then  says,  "Pay  our  agent  for  taking  them."     We  cannot  defend 
such  a  principle. 

2.  The  old  Navigation  Act  contained  provisions  prohibiting 
the  importation  of  goods  from  beyond  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  at 
any,  except  a  limited  number  of  specified  ports.   In  no  State  were 
all  the  ports  originally  placed  on  an  equal  footing.     This,  though 
not  a  technical  violation   of  the  constitutional  provision  quoted, 
was,  in  spirit,  an  evasion  of  it.     There  can  be  no  good  reason 
for  limiting  the  number  of  the  ports,  where  goods  from  the  Cape 
of  Good  Hope  and  beyond  can  bo  imported,  to  Portland,  Saco, 
and  Castine,  in  Maine;   to  Boston,   Salem,  Beverly,  Newbury- 
port,  Marblehead,  Gloucester,  and  Nantucket,  in  Massachusetts ; 
and  to  the  city  of  New  York,  in  that  State.     This  Act  produced  a 
practical  inequality  in  different  ports  of  the  States.     There  was  a 


EQUALITY,    ETC.  123 

practical  violation  of  the  Constitution  in  relation  to  those  States 
whore  at  no  port  were  goods  authorized  to  be  entered,  if  import 
ed  '.Tom  beyond  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope.  Unless  some  recent 
Act  has  changed  the  law,  there  are  whole  States,  like  Alabama, 
Mississippi,  Florida,  Texas,  and  States  on  the  Pacific,  and  those 
States  whose  only  ports  are  on  the  great  lakes,  which  cannot 
lawfully  bring  in  and  land  such  goods.  Such  inequality  should 
never  be  allowed  to  exist,  in  defiance  of  the  Constitution  and  the 
rights  of  the  people. 

3.  The  same  laws  created  similar  distinctions  in  relation  to 
the  rights  of  exporting  debenture   goods.     Ports  enjoying  the 
larger  privileges  of  importation,  enjoy  like  advantages  in  relation 
to  the  exportation  of  goods  entitled  to  the  privilege  of  drawback. 
Between  a  few  such,  goods  can  be  carried  by  land  or   sea,  to 
make  up  a  cargo  to  be  sent  abroad.      These  are  privileges  en 
joyed  by  a  few  ports  only.     There  is  no  rational  ground  for  such 
distinctions.     They  are  indirect  if  not  direct  infractions  of  the 
constitutional  provision  we  have  given  above. 

4.  The  fishing-bounties  stand  upon  the  same  footing.     Laws 
have  been  made,  paying  so  much  per  ton  on  the  measurement  of 
fishing- vessels  engaged  in  the  cod-fishery,  and  so  much  on  each 
barrel  of  fish  taken,  salted,  and  exported,  as  a  bounty  for  engaging 
in  the  fishing  business.    Also  to  allow  a  drawback  to  the  extent  of 
tac  duties  on  the  foreign  salt  used  in  curing  fish.  These  provisions 
are  complicated,  obscure,  and  not  easily  traced.  But  they  all  have 
one    principle    at   the   bottom — for   the   Government   to  pay  a 
bounty  to  those  engaged  in  this  kind  of  business,  for  which  there 
is  no  warrant  in  the  Constitution,  and  in  violation  of  the  spirit  of 
the  provisions  quoted.     Codfish  and  mackerel  are  articles  highly 
esteemed,  and  especially  north  of  the  Potomac.     But  the  waters 
where  they  are  caught  to  any  extent  are  wholly  in  or  near  New 
England.     These  bounties  and  advantages  are  shared  in  by  no 
one  out  of  those  States.     The  benefits  springing  from  these  boun 
ties  are  confined  to  a  limited  portion  of  the  Union,  and  from  the 
nature  of  the  businesss  cannot  extend  elsewhere.     Its  cost  is  paid 
by  the  whole  country.     The  pretence  that  these  fisheries  are  nur 
series  for  seamen  is  without  warrant  in  the  Constitution,  and  has 


124:  DEMOCRACY   IN   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

little  of  truth  to  stand  upon.  While  fishing  is  the  more  profitable 
business,  those  engaged  in  it  never  leave  it ;  south  of  New  England 
the  fisheries  never  furnish  a  sailor,  however  much  needed. 
These  fishing-bounties  confer  local  advantages  on  New  England, 
in  which  the  residue  of  the  United  States  do  not  participate. 
They  are  clearly  in  violation  of  the  principles  of  equality  of  rights 
and  privileges  upon  which  our  democratic  institutions  rest. 

5.  The  sugar  and  molasses  bounties.      We  have  had  sev 
eral  statutes  authorizing  drawbacks  upon  foreign  sugar,  refined 
in  the  United  States,  and  on  spirits  distilled  from  foreign  mo 
lasses.      How  these  stand  at  this  time  is  not  easily  understood, 
from  our  confused   medley  of  national  statute  law.      The  prin 
ciple  on  which  they  were  enacted  is  more  distinct   and   easily 
understood.      The   business    of   refining   and    exporting   refined 
sugar,  and  the  distillation  of  New  England  rum  from  molasses, 
has  been  nearly  exclusively  confined  to  New  England,  and  mainly 
to  Massachusetts.    These  laws  confer  an  advantage  of  a  local  char 
acter,  and  are  in  hostility  to  the  theory  of  equal  rights.      They 
have  no  ground  of  principle  to  stand  upon,  nor  does  the  Consti 
tution  afford  them  any  support.    However  plausible  the  arguments 
upon  which  they  were  adopted,  they  are  indefensible,  both   upon 
the  ground  of  principle  and  policy,  which  is  opposed  to  opening 
a  door  by  which  frauds  innumerable  may  be  perpetrated  and  large 
expenses  incurred. 

6.  Duty   of    three    cents   per    pound   upon    cotton.       This 
duty  is  imposed  upon  the  assumption   that   it   is  a  legitimate 
internal  revenue  tax.     It  is  imposed  upon  an  article  that,  in  con 
sequence  of  our  climate,  cannot  be  produced,  except  in  Texas, 
Louisiana,  Arkansas,  Florida,  Mississippi,  Alabama,  Georgia,  South 
Carolina,  and  Tennessee,  to  any  advantage.   In  these  States,  though 
not  the  sole,  it  is  the  principal  production,  and  upon  which  they 
rely  for  their  prosperity  and  means  of  support,  except  in  Louisiana 
and  Texas,  where  sugar  forms  an  important  item.     This  taxation 
is,  to  a  great  extent,  destructive  of  the   cotton-growing  business. 
No  other  article  produced  from  the  earth,  by  the  labor  of  man, 
pays  any  tax  to  be  compared  with  it.     Wheat,  corn,  rye,  oats,  po 
tatoes,  hay,  and  fruits,  which  are  produced  the  country  over,  pay 


EQUALITY,    ETC.  125 

no  tax  whatever.  The  region  where  these  are  the  principal  pro 
ductions  is  so  large  that  no  Congress  will  venture  to  impose  a 
separate  and  distinct  tax  upon  them,  for  fear  that  their  opposition 
would  prove  effectual  at  the  elections. 

This  cotton-tax  was  imposed  upon  the  States  when  their  re 
sources  were  utterly  unable  to  sustain  it.  Their  active  capital  and 
means  of  production  were  extinguished.  This  tax  was  borne  by 
no  other  part  of  the  Union,  because  it  could  only  be  imposed 
where  cotton  was  produced.  Whatever  may  have  been  the  object 
of  its  imposition,  it  could  not  fail  to  cripple  the  south,  where  thev 
weie  so  reduced  as  to  be  panting  for  breath. 

If  such  a  tax  can  be  supported,  by  the  forms  of  the  Constitu 
tion,  it  cannot  be  in  conformity  with  the  spirit  of  its  provisions, 
which  require  equality  of  public  burdens.  It  was  not  a  tax  upon 
the  national  productions,  but  upon  the  resources  of  a  limited  sec 
tion.  The  Constitution  never  contemplated  a  tax  which  should 
fall  upon  a  small  section  of  the  country,  from  which  other  parts 
should  be  exempt.  The  local  effect  of  this  measure  was  known 
wl:  en  enacted.  It  is  evasive  of  the  principle  of  uniformity  and 
equality  found  in  the  Constitution,  if  not  in  violation  of  the  pro 
visions  which  we  have  given. 

If  it  were  known  that  lumber  was  alone  produced  in  Maine, 
salted  fish  in  Massachusetts,  manufactured  cotton  in  Rhode  Island, 
clocks  in  Connecticut,  cabinet-ware  in  New  York,  iron  in  Pennsyl 
vania,  corn  in  Ohio,  wheat  in  Minnesota,  hemp  in  Kentucky,  salt 
in  Michigan,  gold  in  California,  and  silver  in  Nevada,  would  either 
State  admit  the  principle  of  local  taxation  upon  its  productions, 
when  they  could  not  be  produced  elsewhere  ?  Would  they  not 
denounce  such  tax  as  local  and  unequal,  and  in  violation  of  the 
spirit  of  the  Constitution  ?  No  Congress  would  be  rash  enough  to 
impose  such  a  tax,  and  few  could  be  imposed  without  destroying 
that  fraternity  and  union  which  constitutes  the  prosperity  and 
strength  of  the  nation.  The  democratic  principle  of  equality  and 
protection  would  disappear  in  the  tyranny  of  a  majority,  and  leave 
only  a  wreck  of  formal  and  blighted  rights  in  their  place. 


12G  DEMOCRACY   IN  THE   UNITED   STATES. 

62.— WILLIAM  L.  MARCY. 

New  York,  and  especially  her  Democracy,  have  ever  been 
proud  of  Mr.  Marcy.  Although  born  in  Massachusetts,  he  early 
settled  as  a  lawyer  at  Troy.  When  the  War  of  1812  commenced, 
he  was  a  lieutenant  of  a  militia  company  in  that  city,  which  vol 
unteered,  and  with  it  he  proceeded  to  the  northern  frontier,  and 
was  stationed  at  Fort  Covington.  On  the  22d  of  October,  of  that 
year,  he  proceeded  to  St.  Regis  with  a  detachment  of  men,  and 
personally  broke  in  the  door  of  a  block-house  where  there  were 
some  Canadian  militia,  whom  he  took  prisoners.  He  there  found 
and  took  a  standard  of  colors.  These  prisoners  and  colors  were  the 
first  taken  during  the  war.  He  remained  in  service  during  hos 
tilities.  For  a  time  afterward  he  edited  the  Troy  Budget.  He 
rose  to  be  a  lieutenant-colonel  in  the  militia,  and  on  one  occasion, 
when  there  was  no  colonel  in  office,  called  out  the  regiment  to 
perform  duty.  While  manoeuvring  his  regiment,  a  Federalist  ad 
jutant-general  came  on  the  ground,  and  handed  to  a  political 
friend  with  a  flourish  a  commission  as  colonel,  directing  Marcy  to 
surrender  the  command  to  the  new  appointee.  This  being  intended 
as  a  gross  insult,  he  refused  to  comply.  In  this  he  was  sustained 
by  the  common  voice.  When  Governor  Yates  came  into  power, 
in  1821,  he  removed  this  adjutant-general,  and  appointed  Mr. 
Marcy,  thus  punishing  him  for  his  insolent  and  insulting  behavior. 
Two  years  afterward  the  Legislature  elected  him  Comptroller, 
and  in  1829  he  was  appointed  a  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court, 
which  office  he  held  until  1831,  when  he  was  made  United  States 
Senator.  lie  rapidly  rose  in  the  estimation  of  the  public,  and  in 
1832  was  elected  Governor,  and  reflected  in  1834,  and  again  in 
1836.  In  all  these  situations  he  acquitted  himself  to  the  entire 
satisfaction  of  those  who  conferred  them. 

Mr.  Van  Buren,  when  President,  appointed  him  one  of  the 
commissioners  to  decide  upon  claims  presented  by  Mexico,  un 
der  the  treaty  of  1839,  which  responsible  position  he  held  until 
1842.  President  Polk  appointed  him  Secretary  of  War,  the  du 
ties  of  which  office  he  performed  through  the  Mexican  War.  It 
was  then  conceded  that  they  had  never  been  more  ably  or  better 


WILLIAM   L.    MAECY.  127 

performed.  After  four  years  of  retirement  he  was  made  Secre 
tary  of  State,  under  President  Pierce.  In  this  position  .he  added 
greatly  to  his  reputation.  His  state  papers  commanded  high 
respect.  His  Martin  Koszta  letter  gave  great  satisfaction  to  the 
American  public.  It  has  not  yet  been  fully  answered.  In  all 
the  positions  he  ever  held,  he  acquitted  himself  in  a  most  satis 
factory  manner.  In  all  of  them  he  was  noted  for  his  straight 
forward  mode  of  transacting  business.  His  crowning  virtue  was 
strict  integrity.  In  no  case  has  this  been  called  in  question  by 
even  his  severest  political  adversaries.  He  died  just  four  months 
after  leaving  Mr.  Pierce's  cabinet,  while  lying  on  a  couch  at  Balls- 
ton,  with  a  favorite  book  in  his  hand.  He  was  a  devoted  Demo 
crat,  never  in  the  least  swerving  from  the  faith.  His  intellect 
was  remarkably  clear  and  strong,  and  his  faculties  well  balanced. 
lie  expressed  himself  in  concise,  simple,  and  strong  language. 
It  was  admirably  adapted  to  the  common  mind.  All  could  un 
derstand  him.  What  he  wrote  needed  no  interpretation,  because 
two  meanings  could  not  be  given  to  his  language.  He  never  said 
o;ie  thing  when  he  meant  another.  "When,  in  1838,  he  was  de 
feated  as  a  candidate  for  reelection  as  Governor,  it  was  not  be 
cause  the  people  had  lost  confidence  in  him,  but  because  the  bank 
power  was  brought  to  bear  against  him.  The  banks  required  the 
people  Co  pay  them,  while  they  refused  to  pay  their  own  debts. 
This  brought  hard  times,  which  demagogues  induced  many  to  be 
lieve  were  occasioned  by  some  unspecified  fault  of  his,  or  his  po 
litical  friends  at  Washington.  Had  he  remained  Governor,  the 
great  debt,  which  is  so  heavily  pressing  upon  the  energies  of  the 
State,  would  never  have  grown  to  its  present  enormous  dimen 
sions. 

In  a  debate  in  the  United  States  Senate  wherein  the  question 
of  removals  and  appointments  was  discussed,  Mr.  Marcy  used 
the  celebrated  expression,  "To  the  victors  belong  the  spoils." 
It  was  a  frank  and  manly  avowal  of  the  principle  upon  which 
every  political  party  has  acted  and  ever  will  act.  Each,  as  far  as 
practicable,  enjoys  the  fruits  of  its  victory.  Denying  it  will  not 
change  the  fact.  Mr.  Webster  very  zealously  denounced  Mr. 
Marcy  for  its  utterance,  although  through  a  long  life  he  practised 


128  DEMOCRACY   IN   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

upon  this  identical  principle.  His  acceptance  of  a  seat  in  General 
Harrison's  and  Mr.  Fillmore's  Cabinets  was  an  undeniable  illustra 
tion  of  the  practical  truth  of  Mr.  Marcy's  proposition.  It  was  the 
principle  acted  upon  by  General  Harrison  when  he  removed  Mr. 
Van  Buren's  appointees,  and  it  was  thoroughly  applied  by  General 
Taylor  and  Mr.  Lincoln  when  they  came  into  power.  The  failure 
to  act  upon  it  by  Mr.  Adams,  Mr.  Fillmorc,  and  Mr.  Johnson,  to 
any  considerable  extent,  shows  how  fatal  the  policy  is  for  a  Presi 
dent  to  attempt  to  conduct  an  administration  through  the  agency 
of  enemies,  and  how  little  they  have  to  hope  for  who  try  the  experi 
ment.  Mr.  Adams  was  without  a  real  party,  had  few  friends,  and 
sank  without  efficient  support  when  piloting  the  ship  of  state. 
Mr.  Fillmorc  was  surrounded  to  a  great  extent  by  the  partisans 
of  Mr.  Seward,  who  gladly  saw  him  sink.  Mr.  Johnson  has  been, 
from  the  beginning,  surrounded  by  enemies,  and,  while  he  had  the 
undisputed  power  to  do  so,  he  failed  to  remove  his  enemies  and 
appoint  friends,  and  is  now  more  a  slave  than  Dred  Scott  ever 
was.  He  has  hardly  freedom  to  breathe  or  even  to  think.  Had 
he  followed  Mr.  Marcy's  maxim,  he  would  now  be  the  nation's 
favorite,  and  morally  certain  of  becoming  his  own  successor. 
There  is  a  good  religious  maxim  which  requires  us  "  to  love  our 
enemies,"  but  there  is  none  requiring  us  to  love  them  better  than 
we  do  our  friends.  The  whole  world  acts  upon  Mr.  Marcy's 
maxim,  and  none  but  hypocrites  deny  the  motive.  In  defending 
it,  it  is  not  to  be  assumed  that  removals  are  required,  that  friends 
may  be  secured. 

G 3.— POLITICAL  ANTI-MASONRY. 

Free-Masonry  for  many  years  spread  over  most  civilized  coun 
tries,  and  wTas  esteemed  a  charitable  and  benevolent  institution. 
Men  of  high  character  sought  places  in  it,  and  proudly  acknowl 
edged  their  connection  with  its  ceremonies.  Imputations  upon 
the  objects  and  upon  its  honor  and  intentions  were  not  even 
whispered.  The  first  men  in  the  nation  sought  its  highest  official 
stations.  The  charities  and  benevolent  acts  of  the  order  com 
manded  public  recognition.  Masonry  seemed  to  have  many 
friends  and  no  enemies. 


POLITICAL    ANTI-MASONRY.  120 

But  a  change  came,  arid  it  received  the  most  bitter  denuncia 
tions.  Not  only  the  institution,  but  its  individual  members, 
were  subject  to  every  possible  form  of  contumely  and  reproach. 
Lodges,  long  the  recipients  of  respect,  were  driven  to  waive 
their  accustomed  public  ceremonials,  and  some  to  discontinue 
their  meetings.  The  feeling  against  Masonry  was  spread  with 
energy  and  success,  and  soon  became  political,  and  an  important 
element  in  the  proceedings  cf  partisan  operations.  The  success 
of  anti-Masonry  in  the  place  of  its  birth  gave  it  life,  and  it  soon 
spread  in  New  York  and  other  States,  forming  in  some  a  control 
ling  element  in  the  elections.  Men,  before  not  successful  aspi 
rants  for  public  favor,  rose  to  the  surface  and  won  high  positions. 
Far  a  time  the  waves  of  anti-Masonry  ran  higher  and  higher,  and 
politicians  rose  with  them,  until  both  fell  to  rise  no  more.  Anti- 
Masonry,  in  its  ascent,  clung  to  National  Kepublicanism,  the  legit 
imate  successor  of  the  Federal  party,  but  both  perished  when  the 
Whig  party  arose. 

Anti-Masonry  had  its  origin  in  the  following  manner  :  Wil- 
I'.am  Morgan,  of  Batavia,  a  Mason,  commenced  the  publication  in 
1826  of  a  book,  in  which  the  secrets  of  Masonry  were  said  to  be 
revealed,  which  aroused  the  feelings  of  the  Masonic  fraternity, 
lie  was  arrested  and  taken  to  Canandaigua,  but  discharged.  Sub 
sequently  he  was  taken  secretly  to  Fort  Niagara,  beyond  which  no 
authentic  information  was  obtained,  though  it  was  charged  that  he 
was  sunk  in  Niagara  River.  These  things  aroused  the  people  of 
Western  New  York,  public  meetings  were  held,  and  the  Masonic 
fraternity  denounced.  It  is  a  singular  fact,  asserted  by  the  Hon. 
Francis  Baylies  of  Massachusetts,  who  carefully  studied  the  evi 
dence,  that  but  two  men  knew  the  fate  of  Morgan,  and  they  were 
political  anti-Masons.  From  those  presumed  to  be  guilty,  this 
feeling  rapidly  spread  to  all  who  belonged  to  or  upheld  the  order. 
Morgan's  book  was  published  and  circulated,  and  the  oaths  and 
proceedings  of  Masons  denounced.  It  soon  became  apparent  to 
managing  men,  that  this  excitement  could  be  turned  to  political 
account,  and  they  nominated  no  one  for  office  who  was  not  an 
anti-Mason,  overlooking  all  other  considerations.  Ambitious  and 
designing  men  found  their  account  in  becoming  zealous  anti- 


130  DEMOCRACY    IN   THE    UNITED    STATES. 

Masons.  It  was  resolved  to  destroy  all  Masonic  societies.  Thur- 
low  Weed,  Francis  Granger,  Frederick  Whittlesey,  William  IT. 
Seward,  and  some  others,  rose  upon  this  anti-Masonic  storm.  Mr. 
Seward  profited  more  largely  hy  his  connection  with  the  anti- 
Masonic  party  than  any  of  his  associates.  There  doubtless  were 
some  anti-Masons  honest  and  sincere  in  their  purposes,  but  the 
mass  of  them  were  simply  selfish.  In  some  other  States — Ver 
mont,  Pennsylvania,  and  other  places — anti-Masonry  took  root, 
and  influenced  elections,  conferring  office  upon  many  who,  without 
the  aid  of  some  such  prejudice,  could  never  have  been  elected. 
The  heroes  of  the  "Buckshot  War"  in  Pennsylvania,  who  in 
their  fright  in  attempting  to  resist  a  lawful  election,  but  made 
their  final  exit  out  of  the  capitol  through  the  back-windows,  were 
leaders  in  anti-Masonry.  Thaddeus  Stevens  was  present  as  the 
great  leader.  From  the  beginning  to  the  end  of  anti-Masonry, 
none  of  its  disciples  gave  a  Democratic  vote  or  sustained  Demo 
cratic  principles.  It  began  by  holding  the  innocent  responsible 
for  the  acts  of  those  assumed  to  be  guilty.  It  sought  to  strike 
down  a  benevolent  and  charitable  institution  throughout  the  land, 
because  a  few  men  in  Western  New  York  had  been  accused  of 
crime.  It  rested  upon  too  narrow  a  base  to  stand,  and  soon  fell, 
to  rise  no  more.  It  was  organized,  not  to  protect  individuals,  but 
to  punish  a  large  class,  because  some  of  them  were  supposed  to 
be  bad.  It  had  no  just  political  element — it  was  connected  with 
no  great  public  policy — was  sustained  by  prejudice  and  passion 
against  all  members  of  lodges,  because  somebody  supposed  that 
somebody  was  guilty  of  crime.  It  was  not  confined  to  the  pun 
ishment  of  the  guilty,  but  measured  out  revenge,  indiscriminate 
ly,  upon  thousands  of  innocent  and  estimable  citizens. 

Soon  after  General  Jackson  refused  to  allow  further  deposits  of 
Government  money  in  the  United  States  Bank,  in  1833,  the  old 
National  Republican  party  (on  the  suggestion  of  Colonel  Webb, 
of  the  New  York  Courier  and  Enquirer,  made  in  his  paper) 
changed  its  name  to  "  Whig, "and  all  who  opposed  that  measure 
combined  under  the  new  name.  Hammond,  in  his  "Political 
History  of  New  York,"  very  properly  says: 

"  It  is  remarkable  that  when  this  attitude  and  namo  was  as- 


POLITICAL    ANTI-MASONKY.  131 

suncd  by  the  National  Republican  party,  the  anti-Masonic  party 
instantly  disbanded.  They  seemed,  as  if  by  magic,  in  one  mo 
ment  annihilated.  That  unbending,  and,  as  they  were  called, 
proscribing  party,  comprising  many  thousands  of  electors,  among 
whom  were  great  numbers  of  men  of  high  character  for  talents  and 
standing,  and  distinguished  for  their  piety  and  sacred  regard  for 
the  dictates  of  conscience,  who  had  repeatedly  most  solemnly  de 
clared  they  would  never  vote  for  an  adhering  Mason  for  any  office 
whatever,  in  one  day,  ceased  to  utter  a  word  against  Masonry, 
assumed  the  name  and  title  of  Whigs,  and,  as  it  were,  in  an  in 
stant,  amalgamated  into  one  mass  with  National  Republicans,  a 
party  composed  as  well  of  Masons  as  of  other  citizens.  This 
seems  to  me  high  evidence  of  the  community  of  feeling  which 
existed  among  the  members  of  the  anti-Masonic  party  ;  and  what 
is  called  the  discipline  of  party  was  by  no  means  confined  to  the 
Democratic  party  in  the  State  of  New  York." 

Whatever  pretences  were  then,  or  now  may  be,  made  to  the 
contrary,  it  is  beyond  question  that,  with  few  exceptions,  the 
anti-Masonic  was  a  political  party  organized  and  arrayed  against 
':he  Democratic  party  and  its  principles.  By  skilful  manipula 
tions  many  honest  Democrats  were  drawn  into  it,  carried  along 
and  swept  away  by  it,  and  passed  into  the  Whig  party,  whose 
principles  at  first  were  claimed  to  be  more  democratic  than  those 
of  the  Democratic  party  itself. 

That  anti-Masonry  had  no  fixed  and  enduring  political  princi 
ples  to  stand  upon,  and  that  the  controlling  spirits  in  the  party 
managed  it  for  selfish  and  personal  purposes,  and  as  an  engine  to 
overthrow  the  Democratic  party,  can  admit  of  no  question.  This 
is  proved  by  the  fact  that  it  never  sought  to  adopt  a  democratic 
measure  ;  that  the  leaders  first  joined  the  Whig  party,  and  profit 
ed  by  its  liberality  as  long  as  it  had  power  to  bestow  favors ;  that 
they  then  proclaimed  its  death ;  then  joined  the  Free-Soil,  and 
then  the  Republican  party,  and  still  fight  and  vilify  the  Democ 
racy.  The  political  biography  of  William  H.  Seward  for  the  last 
forty  years,  during  which  time  he  has  been  a  leader  in  these  par 
ties,  establishes  the  truth  of  each  of  these  positions.  Now  he  is 
seen  clinging  to  office,  instead  of  going  full  lengths  with  his  Re- 


132  DEMOCRACY   IN   THE    UNITED   STATES. 

publican  friends,  standing  without  full  fellowship  with  any  party  ; 
like  Micawber,  he  seems  to  be  "  waiting  for  something  to  turn 
up." 

When  anti-Masonry  died,  there  was  no  funeral  eulogy,  like  that 
delivered  by  Mr.  Seward  over  the  Whig  party  when  he  and  his 
friends  had  struck  it  down.  There  were  no  mourners — the  pass 
ing  into  the  Whig  party  promising  joy  instead  of  sorrow;  nor 
was  a  monument  raised,  or  epitaph  written,  to  record  the  public 
good  it  had  achieved,  or  to  perpetuate  its  memory.  That  party 
never  professed  or  cherished  one  democratic  principle.  It  is  re 
membered  for  the  discord  it  produced,  and  the  human  happiness 
it  destroyed. 

Those  who  then  most  fiercely  denounced  secret  societies  are 
now  the  founders  and  members  of  many  societies  whose  sole  pur 
pose  is  to  control  the  politics  of  the  country  and  continue  power 
in  the  hands  of  the  revolutionary  portion  of  the  Republican  party. 
Loyal  leagues  and  other  kindred  secret  societies  arc  banded 
together  for  the  identical  purpose — controlling  the  elections  and 
defeating  the  Democracy — that  anti-Masonic  combinations  were 
formed.  The  present  secret,  bloody,  oath-bound  societies  will 
give  way  to  others  when  the  necessities  of  waning  politicians  shall 
require  it.  They  are  the  weapons  used  to  defeat  equal  rights  and 
those  benevolent  principles  upon  which  the  Democratic  party  is 
founded.  Patriotic  citizenship  requires  no  secrecy.  Secret  polit 
ical  asssociations  indicate  a  dying  party.  Anti-Masonry  struck  a 
furious  but  feeble  blow,  the  rebound  of  which  destroyed  itself, 
leaving  nothing  but  a  stain  where  it  stood.  An  outspoken,  bold 
political  party,  like  the  old  Federal  and  the  late  Whig  parties, 
will  always  find  honest  admirers  and  sincere  followers  ;  but  those 
like  the  anti-Masonic,  which  rests  upon  passion,  prejudice,  dis 
cord,  and  hatred  among  kindred,  without  the  shadow  of  honest 
principle  to  stand  upon,  will  never  command  the  respect  of  man 
kind,  nor  be  remembered  but  to  be  detested. 

04.— INTERNAL  IMPROVEMENTS  BY  THE  GOVERNMENT. 

Ambitious  men  have  ever  been  fruitful  in  schemes  to  attract 
attention  and  secure  favorable  consideration  of  the  masses,  from 


INTERNAL  IMPROVEMENTS  BY  THE  GOVERNMENT.         133 

which  many  have  derive d.high  advantages.  From  the  days  when 
Washington  recommended  canals  in  Virginia,  and  George  Clinton 
to  improve  certain  streams  in  New  York,  roads  and  canals  have 
been  favorite  objects  with  the  American  people.  No  reference  is 
made  to  either  in  the  national  Constitution,  because  that  instru 
ment  was  designed  to  secure  only  such  objects  as  the  States  could 
not  individually  accomplish.  Not  finding  in  it  any  expressed 
power  on  the  subject,  it  was  soon  sought  to  obtain,  by  con- 
si  ruction,  the  desired  authority.  When  the  War  of  1812  was 
e tided,  and  business  again  resumed,  sundry  politicians  became 
prominent  in  soliciting  appropriations  for  various  improvements. 
At  first,  surveys  for  roads  and  canals  were  asked  for  and  obtained. 
Just  before  going  out  of  office,  Mr.  Monroe  vetoed  a  bill  to  extend 
and  repair  the  Cumberland  Road.  But  during  Mr.  Adams's  ad 
ministration  Congress  made  grants  for  canal  purposes  to  Indiana, 
Illinois,  and  to  a  company  in  Alabama,  and  appropriated'  money 
1o  take  stock  in  the  Louisville  and  Portland  Canal,  around  the 
Ohio  Falls,  and  in  the  Dismal  Swamp  Canal,  and  the  Chesapeake 
and  Ohio  Canal,  all  of  which  was  so  much  money  thrown  away. 
"When  General  Jackson  came  in,  a  bill  was  passed  requiring  a 
subscription  to  the  Maysville  Road,  which  he  vetoed  as  unconsti 
tutional.  He  concurred  with  Mr.  Monroe,  who  said  that  the 
power  over  the  subject  of  roads  and  canals  was  claimed  to  be  in 
cidental  and  derived — 

"  1st.  From  the  right  to  establish  post-offices  and  post-roads. 
2d.  From  the  right  to  declare  war.  3d.  To  regulate  commerce. 
4th.  To  pay  the  debts,  and  provide  for  the  common  defence  and 
general  welfare.  5th.  From  the  power  to  make  all  laws  necessary 
and  proper  for  carrying  into  execution  all  the  powers  vested  by 
the  Constitution  in  the  Government  of  the  United  States,  or  in 
any  department  or  office  thereof.  6th,  and  lastly.  From  the 
power  to  dispose  of,  and  make  all  needful  rules  and  regulations 
respecting  the  territory  and  other  property  of  the  United  States. 
According  to  my  judgment  it  cannot  be  derived  from  either  of 
those  powers,  nor  from  all  of  them  united,  and  in  consequence  it 
does  not  exist." 

An  attempt  was  subsequently  made  to  discriminate  between 


134:  DEMOCEACY   IN   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

what  were  called  national  works  and  those  of  a  local  or  State  char 
acter.  But  men  would  never  agree  upon  the  question  whether  a 
specific  work  belonged  to  the  one  class  or  the  other.  Until  the 
Constitution  makes  the  distinction  and  defines  it,  there  will  be 
perpetual  conflict  on  the  subject.  When  the  States  considered 
the  consequences  of  making  internal  improvements  by  the  na 
tional  Government  they  generally  ceased  to  desire  it,  and  made 
the  necessary  improvements  for  themselves.  In  order  to  con 
struct  a  road,  or  canal,  by  the  national  Government,  it  must 
make  its  surveys,  take  and  appropriate  such  land  as  it  chooses,  and 
in  such  places  as  it  pleases ;  must  have  a  multitude  of  national 
laws  concerning  management,  protection  and  tolls,  and  penalties 
provided  for  offences  growing  out  of  them ;  and  an  army  of  na 
tional  agents,  not  accountable  to  the  State  for  their  acts.  How 
ever  oppressive  all  this  might  be,  the  people  would  have  no  rem 
edy  within  reach  or  control.  With  a  thousand  roads  and  canals 
on  hand,  it  would  require  an  army  of  officials  to  look  after  them  ; 
and  with  millions  upon  millions  invested,  the  Government  would 
be  likely  to  find  its  revenues  from  them  all  absorbed  before  reach 
ing  the  Treasury.  It  is  fortunate  for  the  country  that  the  stand 
taken  by  General  Jackson  was  so  far  approved  that  this  system 
was  soon  abandoned.  If  it  had  been  continued,  only  the  saga 
cious  and  designing  few  would  have  benefited  by  it.  The  multi- 

^  &  «/ 

tude  would  not  have  profited  to  the  extent  of  their  taxes  to  insti 
tute  and  carry  on  the  system.  States  and  private  companies 
have  made  all  necessary  roads  and  canals.  Railroads,  not  then 
known,  are  superseding  canals  and  turnpikes  to  a  great  extent. 
The  object  of  the  system  was,  not  to  promote  the  common  inter 
est  of  all,  as  many  States  had  done  all  that  was  needed  for  them 
selves,  but  to  advance  various  local  interests,  and  particularly  to 
light  the  way  to  the  presidency  by  those  who  could  not  reach  it 
short  of  laying  the  national  Treasury  under  contribution.  When 
constructed  at  the  expense  of  the  national  Government,  they  were 
called  "  roads  and  canals  to  the  presidency."  In  the  States  there 
were  numerous  meritorious  and  highly  useful  public  works  that 
were  an  honor  to  those  who  conceived  and  pushed  them  to  com 
pletion.  But  there  were  others  of  different  character,  which  have 


INTERNAL  IMPROVEMENTS  BY  THE  GOVERNMENT.        135 

hardly  kept  themselves  in.  repair,  and  have  paid  but  little  more 
than  superintendence.  Numerous  others  of  a  similar  character 
were  vigorously  pressed  upon  State  Legislatures. 

In  1825  Governor  Clinton  specially  mentioned  a  large  number 
of  localities  where  canals  might  be  constructed,  and  invited  the 
attention  of  the  Legislature  of  New' York  to  them,  who  by  law 
provided  for  surveying  seventeen  of  them,  which  naturally  excited 
hopes  and  created  the  expectations  of  the  people  residing  and 
owning  lands  there  or  near  by.  At  the  session  of  1827  it  be 
came  the  duty  of  Silas  Wright,  as  chairman  of  the  Committee 
01,  Canals  in  the  State  Senate,  to  report  upon  the  subject  of 
Cci rials,  when  a  multitude  of  cases  was  before  the  Legislature.  He 
laid  down  three  propositions,  which  he  adhered  to  through  his 
life,  which  were  sustained  by  his  political  friends :  "  First,  the  prac 
ticability  of  making  a  canal  upon  the  route  proposed,  and  of  ob- 
tuining  a  supply  of  water  sufficient  for  its  use  ;  second,  the  ability 
of  the  State  to  sustain  the  expense,  or  the  resources  from  which 
the  work  is  to  be  carried  on  ;  third,  the  importance  of  the  work, 
and  the  promise  of  its  utility,  and  consequently  income,  to  reim- 
1  urse  the  treasury  for  the  expense  of  making  it." 

The  adoption  of  this  report  killed  off  the  whole  of  these  appli- 
tations,  and  for  many  years  the  principles  thus  declared  guided 
ihe  action  of  the  State  authorities.  The  advent  of  Mr.  Seward, 
as  Governor,  revived  all  these  dormant  and  other  similar 
schemes.  He  informed  the  Legislature  that  New  York  was  doz 
ing,  and  falling  behind  Pennsylvania  and  other  States  in  the 
progress  of  improvements.  He  proposed  to  borrow  $4,000,000 
a  year,  for  ten  years,  and  thus  create  a  debt  of  $40,000,000,  to  be 
devoted  to  the  construction  of  railroads  and  canals,  so  that  there 
should  be  one  within  five  miles  of  every  man's  door.  Here  was 
a  high  and  broad  bid  for  continuance  in  and  elevation  to  the 
higher  power.  Partially  carrying  out  his  projected  improve 
ments  so  affected  the  finances  of  the  State,  that  its  credit  sank  far 
below  par,  and  occasioned  the  political  revolution  which  brought 
Governor  Bouck  into  office,  and  caused  the  rigid  financial  policy 
of  1842,  now  found  in  the  constitution  of  1846,  the  work  of  that 
firm,  able,  and  honest  man,  Michael  Hoffman. 


136  DEMOCRACY    IN   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

It  is  one  of  the  principles  of  action  of  the  anti-Democratic 
party,  so  to  use  the  people's  money  as  to  secure  power  and  contin 
uance  in  its  exercise,  and  to  tax  the  masses  in  order  to  carry  out 
their  schemes,  whether  of  attaining  and  enjoying  political  power, 
or  their  speculations  in  corner  lots,  or  other  expedients  for  the 
accumulation  of  wealth.  A  pure,  able,  and  just  democratic  gov 
ernment  is  all  the  people  really  need,  or  want,  which  will  carry 
out  all  enterprises,  having  in  view  the  welfare  and  protection  of 
the  whole  community  with  strict  economy. 

65.— VETO  OF  THE  UXITED  STATES  BANK. 

The  charter  of  the  Bank  of  the  United  States,  granted  in  1816, 
would  expire  in  1836.  Its  career  had  been  one  of  elevations  and 
depressions,  greatly  injurious  to  the  general  good.  The  scenes 
of  1819,  given  elsewhere,  were  reenacted,  but  with  less  injury,  at 
different  periods  of  its  career.  Strict  constructionists  of  the  Consti 
tution  had  ever  held  its  charter  void,  as  well  as  impolitic.  The  late 
Colonel  Benton  was  the  first  in  Congress,  and  the  present  writer  in 
New  York,  to  take  ground  publicly  against  it.  .GeneralJackson 
had  freely  given  his  warnings  concerning  it.  His  reelection  was 
coming  on,  and  the  effect  of  the  union  of  all  parties,  National  He- 
publican,  anti-Masonic,  and  sundry  political  fragments,  was  yet  un 
certain.  The  wealth  and  power  of  the  bank,  through  its  branches, 
officers,  debtors,  and  those  seeking  its  favor,  induced  the  belief  that 
it  would  become  an  important,  and  probably,  controlling  ally. 

The  alliance  was  formed,  and  the  challenge  of  the  bank  and 
the  old  National  Republican  party  was  accepted  by  General  Jack 
son  and  the  Democratic  party.  The  Constitution  provided  for 
making  our  own  coins,  and  those  of  other  foreign  countries,  the 
money  of  our  country.  The  bank  claimed  that  its  paper  was 
worth  as  much  as  gold  and  silver, — which  old-fashioned  men 
believed  the  only  lawful  currency.  The  issues  between  the  bank 
and  its  Democratic  adversaries  were  thus  presented.  The  Dem 
ocrats  said : 

1.  The  national  Constitution  does  not  authorize  Congress  to 
grant  any  charter  outside  the  District  of  Columbia,  for  any  pur 
pose. 


VETO   OF   THE   UNITED   STATES   BANK.  137 

2.  Congress  has  no  power  to  coin  money,  of  paper. 

3.  It  has  no  power  to  make  any  thing  but  gold  and  silver  a 
legal  tender. 

4.  That  the  powers,  rights,  and  privileges  conferred  upon  the 
bank  are  not  warranted  by  the  national  Constitution. 

The  bank  and  the  National  Republican  and  Whig  parties  ac 
cepted  these  issues,  and  prepared  for  and  opened  the  fight.  They 
demanded  for  the  bank  what  they  did  not  show  it  was  entitled 
to.  True,  a  corporation  may  contract  debts,  but  where  is  the 
power  to  make  its  contracts,  in  one  form,  more  than  another,  a 
legal  currency  ?  Where  is  the  constitutional  provision  that  au 
thorizes  the  creation  of  a  corporation,  clothing  it  with  power  to 
ir.ake  and  open  a  lawful  currency  to  fill  the  place  of  gold  and  silver  ? 
JS'o  two  have  ever  been  able  to  agree  upon  the  source  of  power 
to  create  a  national  bank,  authorized  to  issue  bills,  and  control 
the  business  of  the  country,  and,  for  the  best  of  all  reasons,  be 
cause  its  source  cannot  be  found  in  the  national  Constitution, 
v,Thich  authorizes  no  law  giving  advantages  to  the  few  which  are 
rot  conferred  upon  all. 

General  Jackson's  veto  is  one  of  the  most  powerful  and  con 
clusive  documents  ever  issued,  leaving  no  doubtful  point  for  future 
discussion  and  decision.  His  principles  were  those  of  the  Democ 
racy.  He  stood  upon  the  Constitution,  and  surveyed  the  whole 
horizon.  He  nowhere  sawjajj^p-gfound  upon  which  to  sustain  the 
bill,  or  the  claims  of  its  friends.  He  scrutinized  Democratic  prin 
ciples,  but  found  none  that  would  authorize  the  creation  of  a  bank 
outside  the  District  of  Columbia,  where  several  charters  then  ex 
isted.  Duty  pointed  out  his  path,  and  no  human  considerations 
could  induce  him  to  desert  it. 

The  bill  rechartering  the  bank  was  passed,  with  the  intention 
of  cramping  him,  and  to  extort  his  assent,  for  fear  it  should  exert 
its  power  and  influence  to  defeat  his  reelection.  The  object  was 
clearly  apparent,  and  not  attempted  to  be  concealed.  Some  of  its 
friends  proclaimed  that,  instead  of  his  killing  the  bank,  the  bank 
would  kill  him.  Like  an  honest  and  fearless  man,  he  accepted 
the  issue,  and  demanded  a  verdict  from  the  great  national  jury,  the 
voting  people.  Although  a  majority  of  his  Cabinet  did  not  support 


138  DEMOCRACY   IN   THE   UNITED    STATES. 

him,  he  vetoed  the  bill  without  fear  or  hesitation.  He  was  confi 
dent  that  his  duty  required  it,  and  he  cheerfully  trusted  to  Provi 
dence  for  the  consequences.  He  believed  he  was  right,  and  he 
had  no  fears  bat  that  the  American  people  would  sustain  him. 
lie  was  not  disappointed. 

As  he  expected,  some  professed  friends  in  Congress,  some 
editors,  and  a  few  others,  deserted  him.  But  where  one  left,  ten 
came  and  gave  him  honest  and  hearty  support.  Discounts  of 
nominal  paper,  and  immense  sums  for  nominal  counsel-fees  and 
unscrutinized  printing-bills,  did  not  blind  their  eyes.  An  immense 
concentrated  money  power,  wielded  by  politicians  and  reckless 
speculators,  had  no  charms  for  the  honest  masses.  They  believed 
him  wise,  and  knew  he  was  fearless  and  honest.  The  people  love 
fearless  and  honest  men, — and  they  cheerfully  followed  him  as  a 
leader  worthy  to  be  followed. 

The  supporters  of  the  bank  claimed  that  it  was  constitutional, 
but  could  not  agree  in  what  part  of  the  Constitution  the  authority 
to  charter  it  could  be  found.  Some  supposed  it  was  found  in  the 
war-power,  others  in  the  commercial,  others  in  the  financial. 
The  Supreme  Court  had  twice  declared  it  constitutional,  because 
it  was  an  agency  which  Congress  had  deemed  necessary  for  the 
management  of  our  finances,  and  as  such,  like  national  bonds, 
could  not  be  taxed  by  the  States.  It  was  wholly  above  State 
laws  or  authority.  It  was  claimed  that  these  decisions  were 
binding  upon  the  President,  as  well  as  Congress  and  the  people. 
The  President  denied  that  they  were  binding,  except  in  the  par 
ticular  cases,  but  did  not  bind  the  other  departments  of  the  Gov 
ernment.  He  insisted  that  the  opinion  of  Congress  could  neither 
confer  nor  exclude  constitutional  power.  Congress,  in  1791,  exer 
cised  the  power  claimed,  and  refused  to  do  so  in  1811 ;  and  in 
1815  one  Congress  decided  against  a  bank  charter,  and  in  1816 
another  granted  one.  These  precedents  were  even,  and  proved 
nothing,  except  the  varying  opinions  of  Congress.  He  denied 
that  there  was  any  necessity  for  a  bank  as  a  fiscal  agent,  and  that 
a  national  bank  had  any  special  fitness  for  such  a  purpose.  Ex 
perience,  and  especially  since  the  establishment  of  an  independent 
Treasury,  with  rational  adaptations  to  business,  has  demonstrated 


VETO    OF   THE    UNITED    STATES    BANK.  139 

the.  truth  of  this  position.  Tie  denied  that  the  mind  and  judg- 
iTiuit  of  men  could  be  rightfully  trammelled  by  precedents  where 
they  were  not  fortified  and  supported  by  reason.  The  court  held 
that  Congress  could  create  an  artificial  person,  and  endow  such 
person  with  governmental  functions.  But  Jackson  said,  the 
Government  agents  authorized  by  the  Constitution  were  not  non 
entities,  but  men  of  flesh  and  blood,  who  could  be  indicted,  and, 
if  convicted,  imprisoned  for  violation  of  law  and  duty.  He 
scorned  to  appreciate  the  value  of  precedents  lightly,  and  well  he 
might,  as  there  are  volumes  devoted  to  showing  multitudes  of 
them,  overruled  by  the  courts  themselves,  as  hostile  to  the 
authority  of  reason  and  justice.  Men  sworn  to  support  the  Con 
stitution  should  be  as  free  to  act  as  juries,  whose  oath  permits 
them  to  find  as  they  understand  the  evidence.  A  President  does 
not  swear  to  support  the  Constitution,  as  understood  by  others, 
nor  would  he  be  justified  in  so  doing,  when  he  believed  them 
wrong.  If  he  should  do  so,  it  would  be  moral  perjury.  A  large 
sliare  of  all  the  cases  decided  in  courts  have  not  the  character  of 
unanimity  among  their  members,  and  many  are  affirmed  by  the 
judges  being  equally  divided.  The  civil  law,  wiser  in  many 
things  than  the  common  law,  follows  precedents  only  when  their 
reasons  commend  themselves  to  the  understanding.  Such  were 
dearly  General  Jackson's  opinions,  and  on  them  he  acted.  He 
was  unwilling  to  permit  any  one  to  shackle  his  opinions  upon  any 
question. 

On  the  question  of  the  policy  of  granting  to  the  owners  of  the 
bank  a  franchise  for  a  comparatively  small  sum,  for  which  others 
had  offered  very  large  ones,  he  was  equally  explicit.  The  bank 
offered  three  millions,  payable  by  instalments,  for  a  renewal  of  its 
charter.  This  was  hardly  equal  to  its  exemption  from  taxation, 
and  for  the  use  of  the  deposits.  Others  had  offered  far  more.  All 
understood,  if  the  charter  was  renewed,  the  stock  would  sell  for  at 
least  fifty  per  cent,  premium.  Here  would  be  fifteen  millions 
secured,  and  this  among  a  few  hundreds  of  stockholders,  one- 
fourth  of  whom  were  non-residents.  He  believed  if  Congress  had 
the  power  to  create  and  sell  franchises,  they  should  be  thrown 
open  to  all,  and  secure  as  large  a  sum  as  was  possible,  and  not  give 


140  DEMOCRACY   IN   THE    UNITED   STATES. 

those  who  had  long  enjoyed  these  advantages  the  privilege  to 
continue  them  for  another  series  of  years.  He  also  objected  to 
concentration  of  the  money-power  of  the  country  so  that  it  might 
be  used  for  unjustifiable  purposes. 

The  bank  had  at  will  made  money  plenty  and  then  scarce, 
thus  controlling  the  business  of  the  country,  and  it  threatened  to 
control  its  politics.  It  was  neither  necessary  nor  expedient  to 
create  an  artificial  and  irresponsible  being  which  could  exert  such 
influences. 

The  country  was  with  General  Jackson  upon  all  the  issues. 
He  received  219  votes,  and  Mr.  Clay,  the  great  champion  of  the 
bank,  only  49.  Nothing  could  be  more  hostile  to  democratic 
principles  than  the  renewal  of  the  charter  of  the  bank.  It  would 
have  added  to  means  by  which  the  rich  could  be  made  richer,  and 
the  poor  poorer.  It  conferred  princely  favors  on  the  few,  and  none 
on  the  many.  It  committed  to  irresponsible  hands  the  power  to 
make  money  plenty  or  scarce,  to.  make  and  break  whom  it  pleased, 
and  control  elections  by  lending  liberally  to  one  class,  and  collect 
ing  with  a  vengeance  from  those  who  refused  to  submit  to  its 
tyranny.  Instead  of  protecting  the  people  and  their  industry,  it 
conferred  the  power  of  plundering  and  crushing  them.  It  had 
not  one  solitary  approved  principle  to  stand  upon.  Those  who 
then  were  loudest  in  favor  of  the  bank  have,  to  a  large  extent, 
abandoned  it,  and  conceded  that  General  Jackson  was  right.  Mr. 
Webster,  then  its  ablest  friend,  afterward  referred  to  it  as  an  "  ob 
solete  idea." 

In  another  place  we  shall  refer  to  the  present  litter  of  national 
banks,  and  bestow  some  attention  on  those  who  begat  them, 
and  the  authority  they  rest  upon,  they  not  having  the  pretences 
urged  in  favor  of  their  deceased  predecessor. 

66.— THE  REMOVAL  OF  THE  DEPOSITS. 

The  act  incorporating  the  Bank  of  the  United  States,  in  order 
to  give  it  the  semblance  of  constitutionality,  provided  that  the 
Government  might  use  it  as  a  depository  of  public  moneys,  and 
which  might  be  removed  in  the  discretion  of  the  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury.  After  his  veto  of  the  renewal  of  its  charter,  and  the 


THE   REMOVAL    OF   THE   DEPOSITS.  141 

bank  "had  commenced  its  political  ca'fcer  and  exptwUWfre,  General 
Jackson  came  to  the  conclusion  tha^^^as  not  a  proper  and  safe 
depository  for  them.  Louis  McLan^^ien  Secretary  of  the  Treas 
ury,  hesitating  about  the  removal,  was  promoted  to  the  State  De 
partment,  and  "William  J.  Duane  appointed.  On  his  refusing  to 
act,  he  was  removed,  and  the  late  Chief- Justice  Taney,  then  At 
torney-General,  succeeded  him.  He,  and  Mr.  Woodbury,  of  the 
Navy  Department,  fully  concurred  in  the  President's  views.  The 
common  expression,  "  removed  the  deposits,"  led  to  erroneous 
conclusions.  They  were  not  removed,  but  other  depositories  were 
selected  to  receive  the  accruing  revenues,  and  the  current  expenses 
were  paid  out  of  the  money  then  in  the  bank.  The  Whig  party 
idintified  itself  with  the  bank,  which  became  its  financial  ally, 
and  paid  its  heaviest  expenses. 

After  hearing  opinions  for  and  against  the  course  best  to  be 
pursued  in  relation  to  the  deposits,  General  Jackson  read  a  paper, 
containing  his  own  views,  to  his  Cabinet.  In  this  document  he 
demonstrated  the  propriety  of  his  intended  action  to  the  satisfac 
tion  of  a  large  majority  of  the  American  people,  as  is  proved  by 
the  fact  that  it  brought  him  a  material  accession  of  strength.  The 
pablic  debt  was  then  finally  paid,  and  the  surplus  of  public  money 
v,  as  large — amounting  to  many  millions — which  the  bank  used 
without  charge.  The  failure  to  enjoy  these  deposits  upon  such 
terms  was  equivalent  to  a  large  diminution  of  its  capital,  and  its 
income  was  millions  less  on  that  account.  The  only  remedy  was 
m  building  up  the  Whig  party,  filling  Congress  with  its  partisans, 
and  obtaining  a  charter  over  the  President's  veto,  which  it  was 
sure  to  encounter. 

By  way  of  punishing  Mr.  Taney  for  his  share  in  this  matter, 
his  nomination  as  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  was  rejected  in  the 
Senate,  a  majority  of  which  was  composed  of  friends  of  the  bank. 
This  was  good  fortune  for  Mr.  Taney,  who  was  soon  nominated  as 
successor  of  Mr.  Justice  Duval,  and,  before  that  was  consented  to, 
the  Senate  became  politically  revolutionized,  when  he  was  nominat 
ed  and  confirmed  Chief  Justice,  in  place  of  John  Marshall,  deceased, 
in  which  elevated  position  he  served  upward  of  twenty-eight  years. 

iSTo  act  of  similar  importance  to  this  disposition  of  the  public 


142  DEMOCEACY   IN   THE   UNITED   STATES. 


deposits  is  evar  performed  without  involving  a  distinct  political 
principle.  The  actor  ha^Bikmotivc,  and  the  objector  his,  which 
may  be,  direct  or  indirel^clepending  upon  what  he  may  ulti 
mately  wish  to  accomplish.  General  Jackson's  avowed  object 
was  to  defeat  the  recharter  of  the  bank,  and  to  prevent  it  from 
using  the  deposits  in  aid  of  a  recharter,  and  thereby  endangering 
the  public  money.  The  object  of  the  Whig  party  was  to  aid  in 
securing  a  recharter  of  the  bank,  by  continuing  to  it  the  free  use 
of  millions  of  public  money.  These  motives  involve  principles 
of  great  magnitude.  "We  discuss  one  of  these  elsewhere,  and 
shall  now  only  consider  this  one  :  "  Ought  the  bank,  to  aid  in  its 
purposes  of  securing  a  renewal  of  its  charter,  to  have  the  free  and 
unlimited  use  of  the  public  moneys  on  hand  ?  "  This  is  easily 
answered.  These  moneys  belong  to  the  whole  American  people, 
and  each  one  has  the  same  right  to  their  free  use  upon  the  prin 
ciple  of  equality.  Out  of  some  twenty-five  millions,  a  few  thou 
sands  alone  demand  this  use.  Clearly  they  could  show  no  legiti 
mate  claim  to  such  a  superior  advantage,  while  it  devolves  upon 
the  claimant  to  make  clear  his  right  to  what  he  claims.  Another 
question  here  presents  itself:  "Can  any  one  claim  the  use  of  the 
public  money  to  aid  in  influencing  Congress  to  grant  him  an  ad 
vantage  over  all  others  ?  "  None  will  directly  and  openly  contend 
for  this.  No  one  has  the  right,  even  with  his  own  money,  to  use 
it  to  influence  legislation.  Legislators  should  conform  to  the  le 
gitimate  wishes  of  their  constituents,  and  not  yield  to  outside 
influences,  however  profitable  to  themselves.  The  majority  of  the 
people  had  decided  against  rechartering  the  bank,  by  the  reelec 
tion  of  General  Jackson,  and  to  use  these  moneys  for  the  purposes 
proposed,  would  also  violate  the  will  of  the  people. 

The  great  object  in  view  was  not  to  benefit  the  masses,  but 
to  empower  the  few  to  control  both  the  business  and  politics  of 
the  country  —  to  permit  them  to  build  up  or  crush  down  any  in 
terest  they  chose,  as  well  as  to  point  out  a  path  for  the  voter  to 
travel.  All  this  is  in  direct  conflict  with  democratic  principles, 
which  leave  the  people  free  to  act  as  they  choose,  to  the  end  that 
they  may  be  free  and  protected  in  their  persons,  business,  and 
character,  and  left  to  seek  happiness  in  their  own  way. 


CONDEMNATORY   RESOLUTION.  143 

67.— SENATORIAL  CONDEMNAT^N  OF  GEXEEAL  JACKSON. 

After  the  combination  between  Mr.  Clay  and  Mr.  Calhoun, 
a  id  soon  after  the  compromise  measures,  the  opponents  of  Gen 
eral  Jackson  felt  strong  and  confident.  These  great  leaders  could 
readily  agree  in  hostilities  against  an  adversary  who  had  success 
fully  risen  above  them  both.  If  feelings  alone  could  accomplish 
i1:,  he  would  have  been  crushed  to  the  earth,  if  not  to  its  very 
centre.  When  the  Senate  talked  of  impeaching  their  rising  ad 
versary,  they  exhibited  feelings  which  demonstrated  their  unfitness 
to  hear  and  determine  any  question  where  he  was  concerned.  He 
was  denounced  by  Senators  for  making  removals,  and  especially 
lor  removing  Duane  for  not  obeying  his  direction  concerning  the 
deposits.  Mr.  Clay  offered,  March  28,  1834,  a  condemnatory  reso 
lution,  which  passed,  26  to  20.  It  reads  as  follows : 

"  Resolved,  That  the  President,  in  the  late  executive  proceed 
ing  in  relation  to  the  public  revemie,  has  assumed  upon  himself 
authority  and  power  not  conferred  by  the  Constitution  and  laws, 
but  in  derogation  of  both." 

It  contemplated  no  action,  and  had  no  connection  with  legis 
lation.  It  was  not  directed  to  anybody,  and  neither  commanded 
nor  forbid  action.  It  did  not  contemplate  concurrent  action  of  the 
House.  It  was  simply  an  exhibition  of  strong  feeling,  intended 
to  sink  the  President  in  public  estimation.  Its  effect  was  the 
same  as  the  rejection  of  Mr.  Van  Buren  as  minister  to  England, 
elevating  him  who  was  sought  to  be  crushed.  This  resolution  did 
not  shake  the  General's  firmness.  He  rose  with  every  effort  to 
depress  him.  Although  the  Senate  had  exercised,  to  its  fullest 
extent,  the  privilege  of  saying  hard  things  against  its  adversary, 
it  accomplished  nothing.  It  enjoyed  a  triumph  common  to  all 
scolds — its  members  "  freed  their  minds." 

When  the  smoke  cleared  away,  General  Jackson  determined 
not  to  seem  to  admit  the  rio-ht  of  the  Senate  to  condemn  him 

O 

unheard,  when  not  in  the  course  of  their  duty.  He  sent  to  the 
Senate  his  protest  against  their  condemnatory  act.  This  manly 
and  spirited  document  was  sent  to  the  Senate  April  15,  1834. 
The  concluding  portion  of  this  paper  is  so  noble  and  dignified  in 


DEMOCBACY  IN   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

tone  and  in  the  principles  enunciated,  that  we  cannot  forbear  to 
copy  largely  from  it.  It  contimis  a  noble  display  of  purely  demo 
cratic  principles,  worthy  of  a  .Mferson,  or  Madison,  or  Tompkins  : 
"  The  resolution  of  the  Senate  contains  an  imputation  upon 
my  private,  as  well  as  my  public,  character  ;  and,  as  it  must  stand 
forever  on  their  journals,  I  cannot  close  this  substitute  for  that 
defence  which  I  have  not  been  allowed  to  present  in  the  ordinary 
form,  without  remarking  that  I  have  lived  in  vain,  if  it  be  ne 
cessary  to  enter  into  a  formal  vindication  of  my  character  and 
purposes  from  such  an  imputation.  In  vain  do  I  bear  upon  my 
person  enduring  memorials  of  that  contest  in  which  American 
liberty  was  purchased ;  in  vain  have  I  since  perilled  property, 
fame,  and  life,  in  defence  of  the  rights  and  privileges  so  dearly 
bought ;  in  vain  am  I  now,  without  a  personal  aspiration,  or  the 
hope  of  individual  advantage,  encountering  responsibilities  and 
dangers,  from  which,  by  mere  inactivity  in  relation  to  a  single 
point,  I  might  have  been  exempt,  if  any  serious  doubts  can  be 
entertained  as  to  the  purity  of  my  purposes  and  motives.  If  I 
had  been  ambitious,  I  should  have  sought  an  alliance  with  that 
powerful  institution,  which  even  now  aspires  to  no  divided  em 
pire.  If  I  had  been  venal,  I  should  have  sold  myself  to  its  de 
signs.  Had  I  preferred  personal  comfort  and  official  ease,  to  the 
performance  of  my  arduous  duty,  I  should  have  ceased  to  molest 
it.  In  the  history  of  conquerors  and  usurpers,  never,  in  the  fire 
of  youth,  nor  in  the  vigor  of  manhood,  could  I  find  an  attraction 
to  lure  me  from  the  path  of  duty ;  and  now,  I  shall  scarcely  find 
an  inducement  to  commence  the  career  of  ambition,  when  gray 
hairs  and  a  decaying  frame,  instead  of  inviting  to  toil  and  battle, 
call  me  to  the  contemplation  of  other  worlds,  where  conquerors 
cease  to  be  honored,  and  usurpers  expiate  their  crimes.  The 
only  ambition  I  can  feel  is  to  acquit  myself  to  Him  to  whom  I 
must  soon  render  an  account  of  my  stewardship,  to  serve  my 
fellow-men,  and  live  respected  and  honored  in  the  history  of  my 
country.  No ;  the  ambition  which  leads  me  on,  is  an  anxious 
desire  and  a  fixed  determination  to  return  to  the  people,  unim 
paired,  the  sacred  trust  they  have  confided  to  my  charge — to 
heal  the  wounds  of  the  Constitution  and  preserve  it  from  further 


MICHAEL    HOFFMAN.  145 

violation ;  to  persuade  my  countrymen,  as  far  as  I  may,  that  it  is 
not  in  a  splendid  government,  supported  by  powerful  monopolies 
ar,d  aristocratical  establishments,  that  they  will  find  happiness,  or 
their  liberties  protected,  but  in  a  plain  system,  void  of  pomp — 
protecting  all,  and  granting  favors  to  none — dispensing  its  bless 
ings  like  the  dews  of  heaven,  unseen  and  unfelt  save  in  the  fresh 
ness  and  beauty  they  contribute  to  produce.  It  is  such  a  govern 
ment  that  the  genius  of  our  people  requires — such  a  one  only 
under  which  our  States  may  remain,  for  ages  to  come,  united, 
prosperous,  and  free.  If  the  Almighty  Being  who  has  hitherto 
sustained  and  protected  me  will  but  vouchsafe  to  make  my  feeble 
powers  instrumental  to  such  a  result,  I  shall  anticipate,  with 
pleasure,  the  place  assigned  me  in  the  history  of  my  country,  and 
die  contented  with  the  belief,  that  I  have  contributed,  in  some 
small  degree,  to  increase  the  value  and  prolong  the  duration  of 
American  liberty." 

Colonel  Benton  moved  a  resolution  in  the  Senate  to  expunge 
that  censuring  General  Jackson,  and,  after  being  often  voted  down, 
it  was  passed,  and  the  resolution  expunged,  by  drawing  black 
lines  around  it,  and  writing  on  its  face  :  "  Expunged  by  order  of 
•;he  Senate,  this  16th  day  of  March,  1837."  So  ended  this  con 
spiracy  to  crush  a  President  for  performing  his  duty  to  the  people 
and  Constitution.  This  triumph  in  civil  duty  was  like  that  at 
New  Orleans  in  his  military  capacity. 

68.— MICHAEL   HOFFMAN. 

Admiral  Hoffman,  as  he  was  called,  from  his  long  service  as 
chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Naval  Affairs  in  Congress,  wras  re 
garded  by  all  who  knew  him  as  an  unpolished  diamond.  To  a 
clear  head  he  added  a  pure,  incorruptible  heart.  His  mind  was 
stored  with  useful  knowledge,  which  he  knew  how  to  use.  In 
manners  he  was  not  rough,  but  plain,  simple,  and  sincere,  without 
ostentation,  parade,  or  ceremony.  He  was  a  Democrat  by  profes 
sion  and  in  practice,  and  understood  the  principles  as  well  as  the 
supposed  mysteries  of  government.  He  studied  closely  and  re 
flected  deeply,  and  seldom  drew  an  erroneous  conclusion.  He  is 
the  father  of  the  New  York  financial  system,  now  found  in  her 
7 


146  DEHOCKACY    IN   THE    UNITED    STATES. 

constitution ;  he  first  securing  its  adoption  by  the  Legislature  in 
1842,  and  then  in  the  organic  law  of  1846.  No  one  better  un 
derstood  the  question  of  the  State  finances,  or  was  more  sincere  in 
securing  their  benefits  to  the  people  at  large. 

Mr.  Hoffman  was  born  in  1788,  at  Clifton  Park,  Saratoga 
County,  New  York.  He  first  studied  medicine,  and  was  admitted 
a  physician.  But  practice  in  that  profession  had  no  charms  for 
him.  His  mind  was  better  adapted  to  logic  and  law,  and  he 
studied  in  Herkimer,  and  was  soon  admitted  as  an  attorney.  In 
the  practice  of  his  profession  he  soon  acquired  a  high  position. 
With  a  naturally  well-balanced  mind,  he  added  the  practice,  not 
very  common  among  the  profession,  of  accurately  weighing  and 
determining  the  facts  and  law  involved  in  his  case.  He  possessed 
the  rare  faculty  of  drawing  all  the  facts  in  the  case  from  his 
client,  which  enabled  him  to  perfectly  understand  it.  In  1824 
he  was  elected  to  Congress,  where  he  served  eight  years.  He 
there  mastered  every  subject  that  came  up,  and,  when  he  chose  to, 
discussed  it  with  great  clearness  and  force.  Although  from  the 
interior,  he  was  placed,  at  an  early  day,  at  the  head  of  the  Com 
mittee  on  Naval  Affairs,  where  he  highly  distinguished  himself. 
After  leaving  Congress,  he  was  appointed  Canal  Commissioner, 
but  resigned  in  1835.  In  1841  he  was  elected  to  the  Assembly, 
and  was  reflected  the  next  year.  It  was  during  this  service  that 
he  secured  the  great  reform  in  State  finances.  As  a  member  of 
the  Constitutional  Convention  of  1846,  he  achieved  his  highest 
honors.  He  was  subsequently  appointed  Naval  Officer  at  New 
York,  and  died  in  1848.  Selfishness  never  sullied  his  character. 
Throughout  his  public  career,  he  labored  to  secure  to  the  masses 
the  blessings  of  a  free  government,  by  protecting  the  weak  against 
the  strong,  and  the  machinations  of  the  selfish.  He  carried  his 
great  point  of  protecting  the  State  finances  for  the  benefit  of  the 
whole  against  the  schemes  of  the  selfish  and  the  necessities  of 
those  seeking  political  elevation,  who  had  not  the  ability  to 
secure  it  without  using  the  people's  money  to  buy  their  votes. 


REMOVALS   FEOM   OFFICE.  14:7 

69.— REMOVALS  FROM   OFFICE. 

There  is  no  country  where  the  love  of  office  is  greater  than  in 
the  United  States, — whether  it  springs  from  motives  of  gain,  dis 
tinction,  or  the  desire  of  .power.  It  extends  from  the  presidency, 
through  all  legal  gradations,  and  is  seen  in  the  voluntary  associa 
tions  for  the  administration  of  charities.  The  Federal  Constitu 
tion  explicitly  provides  for  appointments  and  commissions,  and 
that  the  President  shall  see  the  laws  executed,  but  is  silent  in  re 
lation  to  removals.  Hence,  when  once  appointed,  the  officer  will 
hold,  as  long  as  the  office  lasts,  or  he  must  be  removed  under  an 
implied  or  incidental  power.  As  to  the  offices  which,  under  an 
express  provision  in  the  Constitution,  Congress  may  devolve  upon 
the  heads  of  departments,  or  courts  of  law,  scarcely  a  doubt  has 
been  suggested  but  the  appointing  power  can  remove  ;  and  that 
doubt  was  dissipated  by  the  express  decision  of  the  Supreme  Court 
of  the  United  States,  in  Hennen's  case,  some  thirty  years  since. 
The  Court  said,  in  relation  to  appointments  by  the  President  with 
the  consent  of  the  Senate,  that  "  it  was  very  early  adopted,  as  the 
practical  construction  of  the  Constitution,  that  this  power  was 
vested  in  the  President  alone.  And  such  would  appear  to  have 
been  the  legislative  construction  of  the  Constitution,"  This 
question  arose,  and  was  discussed  in  the  First  Congress  by  Madison 
and  others  who  helped  frame  the  Constitution,  and  the  power  was 
then  recognized  in  creating  the  State,  Treasury,  and  War  Depart 
ments,  and  ever}-  President  since  has  practically  exercised  it.  It 
was  alleged,  by  his  adversaries,  that  President  Jackson  had  re 
moved  about  every  official  within  his  reach.  So  far  from  this 
being  true,  out  of  about  8,000  deputy-postmasters  only  491  were 
removed  ;  and  the  total  number  of  all  the  removals  made  by  him 
was  only  about  690,  and  for  all  sorts  of  causes. 

The  Harrison,  Taylor,  and  Lincoln  administrations  were  the 
most  prescriptive  known  to  the  nation.  The  last  scarcely  left  one 
in  office  who  could  be  removed;  and  so  tenacious  of  office  are  the 
friends  he  left  behind  him  in  Congress,  that  they  have  passed  an 
act  over  President  Johnson's  veto,  forbidding  the  President  to 
make  any  but  a  temporary  removal  without  the  consent  of  the 


148  DEMOCRACY   IN   THE    UNITED   STATES. 

Senate.  Under  this  act,  acknowledged  defaulters,  plunderers  of 
public  property,  and  those  guilt}7  of  malfeasance  and  neglect  of 
duty,  have  been  restored.  Congress  has  thus  ignored  the  decision 
of  the  First  Congress,  the  acts  of  every  President,  including  Mr. 
Lincoln,  who  removed  many  thousands,  where  the  Senate  recog 
nized  the  right  by  confirming  successors,  and  disregarded  the  de 
cision  of  the  Supreme  Court  as  delivered  by  Mr.  Justice  Thomp 
son.  Besides,  in  very  many  instances,  removals  were  made  at  the 
request  of  the  very  Senators  and  members  who  passed  this  law, 
and  of  their  political  friends  all  over  the  country.  This  act  was 
passed  with  the  avowed  intention  of  retaining  political  friends  in 
office  to  aid  the  Republican  party  to  continue  in  power.  Such  a 
bold  violation  of  the  Constitution  was  never  before  resorted  to, 
merely  to  hold  on  to  the  offices  and  cripple  the  President,  who  is 
literally  surrounded  by  violent  enemies,  and  nearly  all  those  ap 
pointed  throughout  the  country  to  aid  in  the  execution  of  the 
laws  are  openly  seeking  to  thwart  him,  some  of  them  being  the 
greatest  infractors  of  the  laws.  Political  violence  seems  to  have 
run  mad,  and  fastened  upon  society  a  sort  of  epidemic  that  can 
not  be  stayed. 

Offices  are  simple  machinery  for  carrying  on  the  Government. 
They  are  necessary  agencies,  because  the  people  cannot  assemble 
and  transact  their  business  involving  the  interests  of  all.  No  one 
has  a  legal,  and  scarcely  any  one  a  moral,  right  to  claim  them. 
They  are  usually  injurious  to  those  who  obtain  and  rely  upon  them 
as  the  main  business  of  life,  though  not  objectionable  when  only 
the  incidental  object.  But  all  who  obtain  them  know  the  tenure 
by  which  they  hold.  The  power  of  removal  usually  induces  care 
and  attention  by  the  incumbent,  as  one  means  of  protection  in  his 
office.  The  hope  of  securing  appointments  often  tends  to  conduct 
calculated  to  show  men  worthy  of  them.  If  an  office  is  a  burden 
— we  do  not  refer  to  mere  clerkships  and  the  like — it  is  just 
that  the  incumbent  should  be  relieved,  and  if  it  is  a  matter  of 
profit  and  advantage,  it  is  right  that  more  than  one  should  share 
in  it.  The  advantages  of  government  should  not  be  monopolized 
by  any  one  man  or  set  of  men.  The  Democratic  doctrine  is  that 
the  rights  of  all  are  equal,  and  whoever  is  in  a  position  to  partici- 


149 

pf.to  in  those  rights  is  justified  in  doing  so.  These  changes,  like 
that  of  running  water,  tend  to  purify  and  improve.  They  tend 
to  keep  up  a  watchfulness  necessary  for  the  general  good,  without 
which  lethargy  and  inattention  might  produce  ill  consequences  to 
tl  c  public.  Although  removals  are  often  hard,  and  sometimes 
oppressive  upon  the  individual,  on  the  whole  they  are  advantageous 
to  the  public  service.  The  party  in  power  being  responsible  for 
the  execution  of  the  laws,  must  necessarily  make  the  removals 
and  appointments. 

70.— "  TERRIBLE  DISTRESS  OF  THE  COUNTRY." 

This,  or  equivalent  expressions,  has  been  often  heard  from 
politicians,  when  the  distress  was  either  imaginary,  or  grew  out 
of  their  distressing  political  positions.  Sometimes  the  national 
bugle  is  sounded,  and  at  others  the  sectional  or  State  instrument. 
The  buglers  are  usually  trained  professional  blowers,  or  office- 
seekers  of  the  anti-Democratic  persuasion,  and  who  can  sound  all 
the  notes  from  the  lowest  bass  to  the  highest  octave  in  the  gamut. 
It  will  add  to  our  historic  acquisitions  to  bring  to  view  some  of 
',hese  terrible  distresses  and  trace  out  their  causes. 

In  1798  the  national  bugle  sounded  its  high  notes.  There 
was  an  impending  distress  which  Congress  was  called  upon  to 
assuage  by  legislation.  The  wicked  Democrats,  it  was  said,  refused 
sufficient  respect  for  official  dignitaries,  and  the  unruly  Irish  and 
French  landing  on  our  shores  were  becoming  naturalized,  prepara 
tory  to  committing  the  sin  of  voting  the  Democratic  ticket.  This 
was  a  clear  case  of  great  distress — among  Federal  politicians,  and 
could  only  be  abated  by  statute,  fixing  fourteen  years  as  the  term 
of  residence  before  naturalization,  empowering  the  Executive  to 
drive  out  foreigners  at  pleasure,  and  the  courts  to  punish  those 
who  were  not  as  respectful  as  required.  Hence,  the  fourteen-year 
Naturalization  Law  and  the  Alien  and  Sedition  Laws  were  passed. 
These  were  effective  remedies  in  relieving  the  affected,  not  from 
distress,  but  from  office,  and  brought  the  Democrats  into  power, 
with  Jefferson  at  their  head. 

In  1803,  when  we  acquired  Louisiana,  New  England  blew  her 
sectional  bugle,  and  Massachusetts  sounded  her  State  horn  with 


150  DEMOCRACY    IN   THE    UNITED    STATES. 

./Eolian  vigor.  But  the  highway  of  the  Mississippi,  for  "Western 
commerce,  soon  much  larger  than  that  of  New  England,  was 
kept  open,  and  the  Democracy  sang  songs  of  joy,  while  Federal 
ism  wept  at  the  distress  of  her  politicians. 

In  1807,  when  the  embargo  was  imposed,  all  the  Federal 
bugles  sounded  high  notes  of  distress.  The  country  was  perish 
ing,  and  would  soon  die  if  not  relieved  by  repealing  the  law,  and 
defeating  the  election  of  Mr.  Madison.  The  political  sufferings  of 
his  adversaries  were  hard  to  bear.  They  had  endured  them  eight 
years  without  any  effectual  remedy.  Their  sufferings  were  deemed 
unconstitutional  punishments,  inflicted  by  merciless  enemies.  But 
the  sounds  were  not  loud  enough  to  bring  assistance,  and  Mr. 
Madison  took  the  chair  of  state. 

In  1811  when  Louisiana  asked  admission  as  a  State,  the 
Northern  sectional  bugle  sounded  long  and  loud,  giving  notes 
of  the  highest  distress.  Massachusetts  almost  deafened  Congress 
with  notes  of  ill-omen.  She  saw  with  inflamed  eyes  the  monstrous 
phantom  of  slavery,  and  fairly  screamed  with  assumed  horror. 
Such  indications  of  distress  had  not  before  been  seen  or  heard. 
But  the  great  West  was  seen  in  the  future  by  Democrats,  and 
Louisiana  was  admitted. 

In  1812,  the  Federalists  throughout  the  nation  sounded  their 
notes  of  distress  at  the  threatened  declaration  of  war.  The  Dem 
ocrats  were  so  wicked  as  to  pretend  that  Old  England  helped 
to  pitch  the  key-notes.  Politicians  were  deeply  distressed,  and 
their  hopes  of  relief  were  limited  to  the  defeat  of  Madison,  and  re 
pealing  the  wicked  War  Act,  and  extending  the  hand  of  friendship 
to  England,  and  shivering  the  war-club  on  the  head  of  France. 
But  the  people  reflected  Madison,  fought  out  the  war,  and 
covered  the  nation  with  glory,  making  the  Stars  and  Stripes  the 
signals  of  "  free  trade  and  sailors'  rights." 

In  1814  the  Federal  politicians  had  a  peculiar  return  of  their 
distress,  and,  after  a  few  Northern  State  bugles  sounded,  the 
doctors  assembled  at  Hartford,  and  held  a  secret  consultation, 
which  ended  in  sending  eminent  physicians  to  Washington,  to  in 
form  Mr.  Madison  of  the  dangers  to  be  apprehended  from  the 
high  pulse  of  New  England.  When  they  arrived,  they  learned, 


"TERRIBLE  DISTRESS  OF  THE  COUNTRY."  151 

to  tlieir  amazement,  that  all  the  world  was  well,  and  that  they  were 
th o  only  sick  ones ;  they  thereupon  returned  home  to  be  nursed, 
and  to  receive  all  the  consolations  which  distressed  men  can 
under  mortifying'  defeat. 

In  1830,  when  General  Jackson  vetoed  the  Maysville  Road 
Bill,  a  few  distress-bugles  were  sounded  ;  but  when  it  was  ascer 
tained  that  most  of  the  States,  and  especially  the  larger  ones, 
were  making  their  own  internal  improvements,  the  notes  fell  off, 
and  the  sounds  died  away. 

In  1832,  when  he  vetoed  the  bill  to  recharter  the  United 
States  Bank,  every  anti-Democratic  bugle  in  the  land  sounded 
the  highest  notes  of  distress,  and  the  thirty-five  million  corpora 
tion  sent  up  its  war-rockets,  and  threatened  to  make  Jackson  and 
fiie  Democracy  of  the  nation  tremble.  Such  distress,  it  was  said, 
was  never  seen  or  heard  of.  Even  revolutions  were  talked  of, 
and,  as  it  was  affirmed  there  are  no  Sundays  in  revolutionary 
times,  every  day  in  the  week  was  devoted,  by  politicians,  to 
telling  the  world  how  distressed  they  were.  To  prove  to  Con 
gress  how  badly  they  felt,  they  presented  memorials  with  thou 
sands  of  names,  written  by  somebody,  telling  the  extent  of  their 
distress.  They  were  sent  by  the  hands  of  committees,  who 
always  told,  in  addition,  all  the  alarming  symptoms  that  they  had 
heard  from  bar-room  chroniclers.  A  committee  from  Albany, 
of  great  wealth  and  terrible  distress,  particularly  after  dinner, 
bore  a  mammoth  roll  of  the  kind  to  Washington.  Every  thing 
became  swollen  by  accumulated  distress.  A  swollen  oral  account 
was  added  by  way  of  an  interesting  finish,  when  it  was  handed  to 
Mr.  Webster,  to  present  to  the  Senate.  Their  painful  tale  deeply 
affected  him.  He,  too,  was  affected  by  the  swelling  tendency  of  the 
times.  He  so  clothed  the  subject  with  sentiments  of  sympathy, 
that  the  good  people  of  Albany  were  astonished  at  their  own  sad 
condition,  and  greatly  marvelled  that  they  had  endured  it  thus 
long.  They  became  disgusted,  not  only  with  Mr.  Webster,  but  with 
themselves.  General  Jackson  saw  no  distress  beyond  that  created 
by  the  bank,  and  that  of  a  political  character  among  its  friends. 
When  he  vetoed  the  bank  charter,  it  seemed  to  add  to  the  pain 
of  his  adversaries,  because  there  was  no  known  remedy  for  sick 


152  DEMOCRACY    IN   THE   UNITED    STATES. 

and  distressed  politicians.  The  people  added  to  their  distress 
by  his  reelection  by  an  almost  unanimous  vote. 

In  1833  the  bugles  again  sounded  notes  of  distress  at  the  re 
moval  of  the  deposits.  The  doctors  were  called  in,  but  no  remedy 
was  found.  The  matter  ended  in  very  hard  words  against  General 
Jackson  for  his  cool  stubbornness,  and  want  of  sympathy  for  in 
curable  distress. 

In  1840  there  was  again  great  distress,,  brought  on  by  living 
in  log-cabins,  eating  cold  pork  and  beans,  sitting  on  wagon- 
tongues,  logs,  and  fences,  and  drinking  hard  cider  out  of  gourd- 
shells.  But  this  was  cured  by  the  election  of  "  Tippecanoe  and 
Tyler  too,"  though,  it  is  said,  they  had  distressing  dreams  for  four 
years,  and  until  "Young  Hickory"  took  the  Executive  chair. 

Elsewhere  we  shall  give  further  instances  of  great  distress,  and 
especially  that  occasioned  by  the  inability  of  the  Republicans  to 
get  Mr.  Johnson  out  of  the  Executive  chair.  No  rational  man 
can  doubt  that  when  a  politician  wants  office  and  power,  arid 
can't  get  it,  he  is  distressed.  There  have  been  large  numbers 
badly  distressed,  because  the  presidency  was  withheld  from  them. 
These  arc  distresses  of  the  mind,  and  who  can  minister  to  a 
diseased  mind,  where  a  million  of  votes  is  the  only  healing 
prescription  ?  Those  who  sound  the  loudest  notes,  exhibiting  the 
greatest  political  distress,  never  manifest  it,  when  merely  food 
and  clothing  are  wanted  by  men,  women,  and  children,  like  that 
daily  seen  down  South  among  the  white  people.  Their  music-teach 
ers  have  given  them  no  instruction,  enabling  them  to  sound  the 
proper  notes  for  such  occasions. 

71.— THE  PROTECTIVE  SYSTEM. 

Protection  necessarily  implies  two  parties,  one  to  protect  and 
another  to  be  protected,  as  well  as  the  necessary  means  by  which 
the  protection  is  accomplished.  When  a  government  engages  in 
a  system  of  protection,  the  whole  people  must  be  divided  into  two 
classes,  one  whose  duty  it  is  to  protect,  and  another  who  have  the 
right  to  demand  and  receive  protection.  It  must  also  prescribe 
the  instrumentality  and  the  mode  and  manner  of  its  use,  by  which 
the  desired  result  is  to  be  secured.  In  a  government  where  the 


THE   PROTECTIVE    SYSTEM.  153 

rights  of  all  are,  under  the  Constitution,  equal,  before  it  can  dc- 
croc  that  one  class  shall  protect  the  other,  it  must  find,  in  the  or- 
gnnic  law,  a  provision  authorizing  it  to  do  so.  It  must  also  find 
authority  for  selecting  and  forming  these  classes,  and  for  defining 
tl.c  agents  that  are  to  be  used  in  carrying  out  the  work.  It 
would  also  seem  to  be  necessary  to  provide  against  changes  from 
o  ic  class  to  another,  or  the  abandonment  of  the  specified  agencies 
to  be  used  in  securing  the  intended  results.  If  the  protection  in 
tended  should  be  for  the  producers  of  wheat  and  corn,  if  no  pro 
vision  is  made  against  it,  the  producers  of  rye,  oats,  potatoes,  and 
Lay  may  leave  their  unprotected  business  and  engage  in  raising 
vhcat  and  corn,  and,  by  increasing  the  supply  beyond  the  de 
mand,  effectually  defeat  the  intended  protection.  If  the  object 
should  be  to  protect  the  owners  of  cotton  and  woollen  mills,  if  not 
prevented  by  law,  other  manufacturers  might  come  in  and  defeat 
the  protection  by  overstocking  the  market  with  cotton  and  woollen 
j^oods.  There  can  be  no  lasting  protection  where  the  favored 
class  is  free  to  select  and  pursue  employments.  If  protection 
raises  prices,  competition  is  as  certain,  as  the  laws  of  business,  to 
step  in  and  reduce  prices  to  the  cost  of  production.  If  there  were 
but  a  hundred  hatters  and  boot-makers  in  the  Union,  and  foreign 
competition  legislated  out,  they  could  fix  the  price  of  hats  and 
boots  at  pleasure.  But  when  the  business  is  thrown  open,  com 
petitors  will  rush  in  and  increase  the  supply,  until  hatting  and 
boot-making  would  cease  to  be  specially  profitable.  This  will  be 
found  true  of  every  kind  of  business.  High  duties  on  like  pro 
ductions  from  foreign  countries  will,  for  a  time,  keep  up  prices  on 
our  productions  to  the  cost  of  the  foreign  article,  its  duty,  and 
costs,  and  charges.  For  a  time  high  prices  naturally  prevail,  but 
time  is  sure  to  lower  those  of  our  own  productions  to  cost,  in 
cluding  a  fair  business  profit. 

Those  who  say,  "  Put  on  duties,  and  give  protection  to  all  our 
productions,"  seem  not  to  understand  that  this  would  be  merely 
raising  the  price  of  those  productions  without  benefiting  any 
body.  A  law  giving  fifty  per  cent,  protection  to  every  article 
would  be  no  more  useful  than  to  mark  up  prices  without  it.  If, 
before  the  law,  a  hatter  got  two  bushels  of  wheat  of  a  farmer  for 


154  DEMOCKACY   IN   THE   UNITED    STATES. 

a  hat,  he  would  get  no  more,  and  the  farmer  would  pay  exactly 
the  old  price  for  a  hat.     Among  producers  and  consumers  neither 
would  be  benefited.     If  a  class  is  to  be  selected  to  profit  by  pro 
tective  legislation,  it  would  be  necessary  to   define   who   should 
compose  it.     Should  it  be  those  personally  most  meritorious  ?    If 
so,  who  shall  adjudicate  and  determine  who  they  are?     If  it  is  to 
be  composed  of  those  without  whose  toil  we  cannot  exist — the 
farmers — will   the   mechanics    and   seamen   be   satisfied?      The 
farmers  have  never  yet  been  selected.      Shall  it  be  the  seamen  ? 
Then  the  farmers  and  mechanics  will  complain  and  overthrow  the 
law,  as  their  combined  numbers  will  enable  them  to  do.     Shall  it 
be  the  farmers  1     Then  the  seamen  and  mechanics  will  be  dissatis 
fied  and  seek  a  change.     If  it  shall  be  mechanics,  then  the  farmers 
and  seamen  will  complain,  and  seek  to  alter  the  law.     Among  the 
farmers  are  there  degrees  of  merit?     Are  not  the  wheat,  corn, 
wool,  and  potato  growers,  and  the  graziers,  all  on  a  par  ?     Do  they 
not  all  toil,  work  the  soil,  and  receive  about  equally  low  profits  ? 
We  rely  upon  them  in  war ;  shall  we  overlook  them  in  peace  ? 
Among  mechanics,  what  class   shall  be  preferred?     Is  he  who 
uses  machinery  to  be  preferred  to  him  who  uses  his  hands?     Is 
the  maker  "of  farthingales  more  worthy  of  favor  than  the  pin- 
maker  ?     Who  shall  select,  and  where  does  he  obtain  his  author 
ity  to  discriminate  among  citizens  upon  whom  God  and  the  Con 
stitution  have  conferred  equal  rights  ?     We  are  not  speaking  con 
cerning  raising  revenue,  but  of  class  advantages  conferred  by  legis 
lation,  inaptly  called  protection,  which  has  a  less  repulsive  aspect. 
But  words  cannot  disguise  the  intention.     It  is  to  select  among 
mankind  a  class  who  shall  receive  worldly  favors  to  be  derived 
from  the  earnings  of  another  class.     To  those  who  earn  and  yield 
these  advantages,  and  to  the  class  who  receive  them,  it  is  precisely 
the  same  thing  in  principle,  whether  the  receiver  collects,  as  now, 
for  himself,  or  the  Government  should  do  it  and  pay  over  to  the 
favored  class.     The  loss  on  one  side  and  the  gain  on  the  other 
would  be  the  same.     But  if  the  Government  should  become  the 
organ  of  an  aggression  upon  the  rights  of  equality,  those  enacting 
and  executing  the  law  would  be  instantly  hurled  from  power. 
When  the  disguise  is  stripped  off  from  such  a  system,  the  voice 


THE   PROTECTIVE   SYSTEM.  155 

of  the  world  is  against  it.  When  the  injustice  is  indirectly  per 
petrated,  so  as  not  to  be  shown  up  glaringly  in  all  its  propor 
tions,  it  is  not  clearly  seen,  its  extent  known  or  appreciated. 
When  the  law,  by  its  operation,  adds  fifty  per  cent,  to  the  price 
of  cottons  and  woollens,  not  being  collected  by  itself,  but  as  added 
to  a  fair  price,  it  is  little  thought  of,  because  covered  up  and  con 
cealed.  If  the  bills  were  made  out  in  two  items,  one  showing  the 
real  cost,  and  the  other  the  legislative  protection,  few  would  pay 
the  latter,  and  fewer  still  approve  of  the  law  authorizing  the  ex 
action.  It  is  by  disguising  the  ingredients  with  a  sugar-coating 
that  a  disagreeable  pill  is  easily  swallowed.  It  would  be  just  as 
fair  and  honest  for  Government  to  appoint  officers  to  go  to  the 
paying  class  and  require  them  to  pay  to  the  favored  class  specific 
amounts  as  to  allow  it  to  be  indirectly  done.  There  is  no  more 
power  in  the  Constitution  to  do  the  one  than  there  is  to  do  the 
other.  There  is  not  a  particle  in  it  authorizing  either.  During 
the  twenty-eight  years  of  the  four  first  Presidents,  the  idea  of  such 
favoritism  in  legislation  was  not  proposed  or  thought  of.  There 
was  no  class  controlling  a  sufficiently  large  number  of  the  press 
and  politicians  to  dare  attempt  any  such  object.  Then  the  coun- 
try  was  new,  and  men  struggled  to  secure  a  livelihood,  and  were 
willing  to  earn  it.  It  was  not  until  years  of  prosperity  had  accu 
mulated  capital,  and  the  United  States  Bank,  and  small  imita 
tions  had  been  chartered,  that  men  began  to  think  of  living  by 
their  wits  and  without  labor.  This  occasioned  the  necessity  of 
profiting  by  the  warnings  of  others,  and  prompted  men  to  seek 
the  aid  of  legislation  to  accomplish  their  purposes.  Men  seek 
the  fruits  of  industry,  but  wish  to  be  protected  from  the  labor 
necessary  to  obtain  them.  Class  legislation  secures  this.  The 
smaller  the  class,  the  more  certain  is  a  thriving  result.  The 
favored  class  is  made  just  large  enough  to  secure  the  passage  of 
the  law,  and  no  larger.  The  larger  the  number  left  in  the  contrib 
uting  class,  the  more  profitable  the  discrimination.  If  restricted 
to  inconsiderable  numbers,  the  system  would  fail  to  be  productive. 
The  constitutional  power  authorizing  this  kind  of  legislation  has 
never  been  pointed  out.  It  is  never  visible,  except  to  those  whose 
eyes  are  so  peculiar  that  they  can  see  around  a  hill.  The  system 


156  DEMOCEACY    IN    THE   UNITED   STATES. 

finds  talkers  and  writers,  but  never  furnished  a  logical  constitu 
tional  argument,  because  impossibilities  are  never  accomplished. 

The  protective  system  rests  upon  extreme  anti-democratic 
principles — the  principle  that  the  Government  is  a  machine  cre 
ated  to  make  one  class  rich,  and  to  control  the  industry  of  the 
other,  so  as  to  secure  that  object.  A  share,  often  a  large  one,  of 
the  earnings  of  one  class  is  taken  from  them  by  law  and  diverted 
to  the  use  of  the  favored  one.  Instead  of  each  person  working 
out  his  own  happiness,  according  to  democratic  principles,  the 
unprotected  class  are  required,  by  Government,  to  work  out  the 
prosperity  and  happiness  of  the  protected  class,  by  contributing 
toward  the  means  necessary  to  enable  them  to  live.  There  is,  in 
reality,  slavery  in  this  principle,  because  the  class  contributing 
to  the  support  of  the  protected  class  do  so,  not  of  their  own  free 
will,  but  by  compulsion  and  without  compensation.  The  differ 
ence  is  in  the  form  and  dress,  and  not  in  the  principle. 

We  have  shown  that,  in  the  progress  of  time,  this  class  legis 
lation  defeats  itself.  But  not  until  large  mischief  is  done.  It 
weakens  the  bonds  of  Government,  and  alienates  one  section  from 
another,  according  to  the  locality  of  the  contributing  and  receiv 
ing  classes,  while  it  occasions  a  perpetual  scramble  for  these  legis 
lative  advantages.  All  such  things  tend  to  diminish,  if  not  de 
stroy,  the  happiness  of  the  people,  and  impair  the  respectability 
of  our  Government. 

72.— THE  REVIVAL  OF  A  GOLD  CURRENCY. 

The  power  to  coin  money  has,  all  over  the  civilized  world, 
and  at  all  times,  been  a  function  of  government,  or  prerogative 
of  the  crown.  Gold  and  silver  have  ever  been  the  currency  of 
the  world,  with  very  limited  exceptions,  when  speculative  associa 
tions  have  bought  the  privilege  of  creating  an  inferior  substitute. 
When  our  national  Constitution  was  formed,  its  framers  were 
alive  to  the  evils  of  a  currency  not  consisting  of  gold  and  silver. 
They  acted  upon  the  theory,  reiterated  in  express  words  in  the 
tenth  amendment,  that  "  the  powers  not  delegated  to  the  United 
States  by  the  Constitution,  nor  prohibited  by  it  to  the  States,  are 
reserved  to  the  States  respectively,  or  to  the  people."  The  Consti- 


THE   REVIVAL   OF   A   GOLD   CURRENCY.  157 

tir.ion  nowhere  authorized  the  creation  by  the  Government  of  a  cur 
rency  of  any  thing  but  the  precious  metals.  It  was  clothed  with  ex 
press  power  "  to  coin  money,  regulate  the  value  thereof,  and  of  for 
eign  coins."  The  process  of  coining  referred  to  was  then  as  well 
understood  as  writing  and  printing,  and  remains  so  to  the  present 
time.  Ifc  meant  preparing  pieces  of  gold  and  silver  of  uniform 
si;:es,  and  stamping  them  by  mechanical  power  with  known  and 
ai  thorized  devices,  indicating  a  legal  specific  measure  of  value. 
By  conferring  this  express  power,  the  Constitution  necessarily 
excludes  all  implied  or  incidental  powers  on  the  subject.  The 
more  effectually  to  guard  against  any  other  currency,  it  was  pro 
vided,  that  "  no  State  shall  ....  coin  money,  emit  bills  of 
credit,  or  make  any  thing  but  gold  and  silver  coin  a  tender  in 
payment  of  debts."  It  is  thus  seen  that  the  power  of  the  nation 
al  Government  was  express,  but  limited  to  coining  money  and 
declaring  the  value  of  foreign,  coins,  and  that  the  States  were  pro 
hibited  from  exercising  the  like  or  similar  power,  or  making  paper  a 
representative  of  coin,  and  declaring  it  a  legal  tender.  The  consti 
tutional  provisions  were  complete  for  securing  a  currency  of  gold 
and  silver.  If  the  Government  deviates  from  this  standard  in  any 
supposed  emergency,  it  is  without  authority  from  the  Constitution. 
In  legislating  upon  this  subject,  Congress  fell  into  the  error 
of  undervaluing  gold  as  compared  with  silver,  which  had  the 
effect  to  drive  gold  out  of  circulation,  and  filling  the  chan 
nels  with  silver.  Gold  was  sold  as  an  article  of  merchan 
dise  above  its  stamped  value.  An  effort  was  made  to  equal 
ize  the  value  of  gold  and  silver,  so  that  the  former  would 
be  used  in  the  larger,  and  the  latter  in  smaller  transactions 
and  for  change.  The  difficulty  was,  how  to  apportion  the  quanti 
ties,  so  as  to  secure  actual  equivalents.  History  and  science  were 
called  in  to  aid,  and  experienced  coiners  and  bankers  gave  their 
opinions ;  but  doubts  still  existed.  Mr.  Campbell  P.  White,  a 
member  from  the  city  of  New  York,  reported  a  bill,  but  it  did 
not  become  a  law.  Colonel  Benton  proposed  to  adopt  the  pro 
portions  so  long  used  in  Spain,  and  was  supported  by  Mr.  Cam- 
breleng  and  some  others,  including  the  writer,  and  the  bill  became 
a  law  in  January,  1837.  Gold  soon  began  to  flow  in  the  channels  of 


158  DEMOCRACY    IN    THE   UNITED    STATES. 

circulation,  and  continued  to  do  so  until  the  Legal  Tender  Act 
of  February  25,  1862.  On  the  26th  of  March,  1836,  the  writer 
made  a  report  to  the  House  on  gold  coinage,  and  introduced  a 
bill  directing  the  coining  of  gold  dollars,  which  was  afterward 
authorized ;  and  these  coins  were  largely  in  circulation  down  to 
the  suspension  of  the  banks  early  in  the  late  war. 

Colonel  Benton's  agency  in  restoring  the  circulation  of  gold 
gave  him  the  acceptable  title  of  "  Old  Bullion."  He  was  sus 
tained  in  his  efforts  by  President  Jackson,  who  believed  in  and 
favored  a  currency  having  an  intrinsic  value  at  home  and  abroad. 
He  remarked  that  he  never  knew  an  imitation  of  piety  and  virtue 
that  was  equal  to  real  piety  and  virtue.  In  California  and  on  the 
Pacific,  gold  is  the  standard,  and  is  principally  used ;  and  the 
products  of  the  earth  and  industry  are  at  about  former  gold 
prices.  East  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  the  currency  is  paper, 
worth  but  little  over  half  the  value  printed  upon  it.  All  former 
investments  have  diminished  in  value  nearly  one-half,  and  vibrate 
from  day  to  day,  according  to  the  action  of  the  Government  and 
the  scarcity  in  Wall  Street.  The  currency  used  here  will  neither 
pay  debts,  nor  pay  travelling-expenses  abroad,  nor  duties  at  the 
custom-house.  Without  selling  it  at  a  sacrifice,  there  are  no 
legal  means  out  of  which  gold  and  silver  enough  can  be  obtained 
to  fill  a  tooth  or  make  a  thimble.  Ignorant  and  reckless  men 
have  declared  that  this  currency  is  as  good  as  gold  and  silver. 
But  they  will  not  give  either  for  it,  nor  will  it  buy  much  more 
than  half  as  many  of  the  necessaries  and  comforts  of  life.  By 
using  this  depreciated  currency,  when  gold  could  easily  have 
been  obtained,  our  public  debt  has  been  nearly  doubled,  owing  to 
its  depreciation,  not  purchasing  much  beyond  half  as  much  for  the 
nominal  amount,  while  we  are  left  to  wrangle  about  the  currency 
in  which  this  debt  shall  be  paid.  While  silver  and  gold  are  the 
currency  of  the  world,  and  of  the  Federal  Government  for  nearly 
half  its  income — near  $200,000,000  a  year— all  of  which  it  pays 
out  or  sells,  it  will  be  difficult  to  make  mankind  believe  in  the 
legality  or  honesty  of  the  Government  in  forcing  the  holders  of 
any  portion  of  the  debt  to  receive  at  par  a  currency  which  it  has 
voluntarily  depreciated. 


DISTRIBUTION    OF    THE    PUBLIC    EEVENUE.  159 

The  Democracy  demand  the  currency  of  the  Constitution,  and 
not  that  made  outside  of  it.  It  will  be  of  equal  and  uniform 
value  to  all,  and  injurious  to  no  one.  They  desire  protection  in 
thsir  property,  preserving  its  value  from  the  fluctuations  incident 
to  a  vicious  currency  not  authorized  by  the  Constitution.  As 
things  now  are,  the  value  of  their  earnings  may  change  to  their 
ruin  over  night,  without  their  having  any  means  of  preventing  it. 
Our  present  currency  is  a  perpetual  see-saw.  No  one  is  safe  in 
making  contracts  under  it,  because  it  does  not  always  represent 
tl  e  same  value.  The  Constitution  requires  a  better  one,  and  on 
the  principle  of  protecting  us  from  evils  not  unavoidable,  the 
people  have  a  right  to  demand  a  better  one.  The  great  argu 
ment,  necessity — never  true  or  valid — has  gone  by,  and  we  are 
entitled  to  a  currency  as  good  as  the  rest  of  the  world,  and  which 
\\ill  buy  things  at  par  the  world  over. 

73.— DISTRIBUTION   OF   THE  PUBLIC   REVENUE. 

The  national  Government  had  been  in  operation  for  nearly  two 
generations  before  there  was  any  surplus  revenue  which  could  be 
distributed,  the  old  national  debt  not  being  finally  discharged 
until  1833.  The  Constitution  did  not  authorize  distribution  to 
the  States,  and  it  limited  the  power  to  collect  taxes  to  paying 
national  debts  and  providing  for  the  common  defence  and  general 
welfare  of  the  United  States.  The  framcrs  of  the  Constitution 
were  too  wise  to  provide  for  the  collection  of  revenue — always 
attended  with  hazards  and  expenses — from  the  people  at  large 
and  then  distributing  it,  not  to  the  people  from  whom  collected, 
but  to  States,  some  of  which  may  never  have  contributed  to  the 
fund  to  be  distributed.  Without  such  authority,  Congress  could 
make  no  distribution,  nor  even  collect  money  for  that  purpose. 

But  events  produced  a  surplus.  The  income  of  the  Govern 
ment,  after  the  public  debt  was  paid,  exceeded  its  expenses.  This 
surplus  was  deposited  in  the  State  banks  selected  as  depositories 
for  the  public  moneys.  This  stimulated  discounts  and  increased 
importations  and  the  sale  of  the  public  lands,  which,  of  course, 
increased  the  surplus,  which  was  again  loaned  out  for  the  like  pur 
pose.  These  surpluses  lighted  the  fires  of  the  speculations  of 


160  DEMOCEACY   IN   THE   UNITED    STATES. 

1835-'36,  and  added  fuel  to  increase  their  burning.  The  surplus 
on  hand  became  large,  and  the  question  arose,  "How  shall  it  be 
disposed  of?"  General  Jackson  preferred  that  it  should  be  used  in 
fortifications,  in  favor  of  which,  General  Cass,  Secretary  of  War, 
made  an  able  report.  Some  desired  to  improve  the  navigation  of 
rivers  and  harbors,  while  not  a  few  desired  the  Government  to 
construct  new  harbors  in  aid  of  their  sp  eculations.  But  nothing 
definite  was  agreed  upon. 

In  June,  1836,  a  bill  establishing  a  system  of  depositing  pub 
lic  moneys  in  State  banks  was  before  Congress.  Sections,  direct 
ing  a  distribution  among  the  States,  in  form  of  deposits  with  the 
States,  were  proposed,  under  which  the  sovereign  States  appar 
ently  became  the  agents  and  money-keeping  servants  of  the 
national  Government.  The  provision  covered  all  the  moneys  then 
on  hand  but  five  million  dollars.  The  writer  moved  to  except 
from  the  operation  of  the  bill  the  money  already  appropriated, 
and  sustained  his  views  in  a  short  speech.  On  this  amendment, 
Mr.  Harner,  from  Ohio,  demanded  the  yeas  and  nays,  which  were 
refused,  and  the  proposed  amendment  was  rejected. 

The  bill  passed  the  Senate  on  the  18th  of  June,  1836,  by  yeas 
40,  and  nays  6 — Benton,  Black,  Cuthburt,  Grundy,  Walker,  and 
Wright.  It  passed  the  House  on  the  22d  of  June — yeas,  155,  nays 
38.  Fourteen  of  the  latter  were  from  New  York,  including  the 
writer,  and  two  from  New  Hampshire,  including  ex-President 
Pierce. 

Undoubtedly  some  members  believed  that  this  was  a  real  de 
posit  act  and  that  the  States  would  consent  to  become  deposit 
agents,  and  upon  no  other  ground  can  many  votes  be  accounted 
for.  But  that  such  was  not  the  object,  and  that  the  States  so  un 
derstood  it,  cannot  now  be  questioned.  Some  States  refused  to  re 
ceive,  others  distributed  per  capita,  and  others  applied  the  amount 
received  in  different  ways.  No  interest  was  to  be  paid  for  the  de 
posit,  which  has  not  to  this  day  been  called  for,  and  no  one 
expects  it  ever  will  be.  New  York  added  her  share  of  this  distri 
bution  to  her  common-school  fund,  applying  the  interest  derived 
to  the  use  of  common  schools. 

It  is  possible  that  Congress  thought  that  the  then  twenty -five 


DISTRIBUTION   OF   THE   PUBLIC   REVENUE.  161 

States  comprised  in  tlie  Union  would  constitute  that  number  of 
good  and  obedient  fiscal  agents  ;  but,  were  it  not  for  the  elevated 
character  of  some  voting  for  this  measure,  it  would  be  difficult  to 
believe  it.  An  infatuation  seemed  to  seize  upon  the  minds  of 
men,  completely  precluding  them  from  reasoning  freely  and  accu 
rately.  Within  a  few  days,  many  who  had  voted  for  the  bill  ex 
pressed  their  deep  regrets.  Those  who  voted  against  it  nowhere 
received  censure,  but  generally  the  reverse. 

This  act  organized  the  State  bank  system  of  deposits,  which 
hnd  not  been  previously  legalized  by  Congress.  Land  and  other 
speculation  increased  with  the  deposits  in  these  banks — a  fatal 
consequence  of  their  connection  with  the  Government.  Within 
less  than  a  year  they  all  exploded,  carrying  with  them  nearly  every 
bank  in  the  United  States.  The  Government  could  only  use 
the  paper  of  specie-paying  banks,  and  could  deposit  in  none 
which  did  not  so  redeem.  The  Government,  with  nominal  mil 
lions  on  deposit  in  the  deposit  banks,  had  not  a  dollar  it  could 
lawfully  use.  The  deposit-bank  system  blew  up,  and  was  not  worth 
repairing.  The  Government  was  financially  at  a  stand  still. 
Money,  which  a  year  before  was  so  plenty  as  almost  to  burst  the 
Treasury,  had  to  be  sent  to  the  States  to  be  kept,  and  would  an 
swer  no  lawful  purpose  under  the  Constitution.  The  situation  of 
President  Van  Buren,  who  had  just  previously  entered  upon  his 
duties,  was  extremely  embarrassing.  The  abundant  resources  of 
the  previous  year  had  disappeared,  and  he  was  without  means. 
But  duty  required  action,  and  he  was  not  the  man  to  shrink  from 
it.  He  issued  a  proclamation  convening  Congress,  on  the  4th  of 
September,  1837,  which  was  the  earliest  practicable  day  after  the 
Tennessee  and  other  Southwestern  elections.  An  earlier  day  would 
have  left  some  States  without  representation.  The  country  was 
full  of  projected  remedies.  The  friends  of  the  United  States 
Bank  insisted  that  a  rccharter  of  that  institution  would  remedy 
the  evils.  But  Mr.  Van  Buren  understood  too  well  the  cause  of 
the  suspension  of  specie  payments,  and  the  liability  of  frequent 
occurrence,  to  trust  to  that  or  any  other  banking  corporations  for 
remedy.  He  knew  that  the  United  States  Bank  was  one  of  the 
causes  of  present  difficulties  by  its  irregular  action  and  crippled 


162  DEMOCRACY   IN    THE    UNITED   STATES. 

condition.  He  had  seen  the  Government  deposits,  in  the  State 
banks,  loaned  and  loaned  over  again  in  aid  of  speculations  in  the 
public  lands ;  so  that  instead  of  selling  from  two  to  four  millions 
in  a  year,  in  a  little  over  one  year  the  .sales  had  risen  to  nearly 
forty  millions.  It  was  also  known  that  the  Bank  of  England  had 
declined  to  discount  for  American  houses  in  London,  who  relied 
upon  these  State  banks  for  reimbursement,  and  that  their  drafts 
were  returned  protested.  It  was  clear  that  the  State  bank  system 
could  not  be  relied  upon,  and  could  not  be  rendered  safe  and 
efficient  by  legislation.  Advising  with  men  like  Silas  Wright, 
Levi  Woodbury,  and  John  Forsyth,  his  own  views  were  strength 
ened,  and  he  determined  to  recommend  a  complete  divorce  of  the 
Government  from  all  banks,  and  the  establishment  of  additional 
Treasury  offices  for  keeping  and  disbursing  the  public  money. 
He  was  of  opinion  that,  while  one  set  of  officers  were  generally 
safely  intrusted  to  collect  our  revenues,  another,  under  suitable 
guards  and  restrictions,  and  provided  with  proper  means,  might 
be  relied  upon  for  keeping  and  paying  out  on  the  Secretary's  war 
rants.  We  then  had  only  a  treasurer,  who  really  kept  and  handled 
very  little  money,  it  remaining  in  banks.  This  recommendation  con 
templated  assistants  at  points  where  large  amounts  were  collected. 
This  system,  when  eventually  passed,  was  called  the  "  Sub-Treas 
ury."  On  the  meeting  of  Congress,  Mr.  Van  Buren  communicat 
ed  his  views  in  one  of  the  clearest  and  ablest  messages  ever  sent 
to  that  body.  As  he  expected  and  had  foretold,  his  recommenda 
tion  brought  down  upon  him  the  combined  friends  of  the  national 
and  State  banks,  which,  for  the  time  being,  threw  him  and  his 
party  in  the  minority.  When  he  had  determined  upon  this  rec 
ommendation,  he  informed  Benjamin  F.  Butler,  Francis  P.  Blair, 
and  others,  that  it  would  probably  be  the  means  of  his  political  de 
struction,  but  that  it  was  necessary  and  right,  and  would  eventually 
receive  the  strong,  decided,  and  lasting  approval  of  the  nation, 
and  that  he  preferred  hazarding  his  own  position  to  resorting  to 
temporary  expedients,  which  must  end  in  disappointment  and  loss  ; 
and  tLat  he  should  cheerfully  take  upon  himself  all  the  hazards  that 
doing  right  might  subject  him  to.  His  predictions  proved  true. 
At  the  extra  session,  the  first  Act  passed  was  one  to  post- 


THE    SPECIE   CIRCULAR.  163 

pone  the  making  the  fourth,  and  last  deposit  with  the  States  ;  and 
the  second  to  borrow  ten  millions  of  dollars,  and,  if  not  obtained, 
to  issue  Treasury  notes,  in  order  to  carry  on  the  Government.  As 
it  \vas  provided  that  this-  loan  should  not  be  sold  below  par,  our 
agents  sent  abroad  to  negotiate  it,  returned  without  selling  any 
pait  of  it,  and  the  Government  was  compelled  to  resort  to  Treas 
ury  notes  to  meet  its  necessary  expenses.  Such  were  the  fruits 
of  unwise,  ill-advised,  anti-democratic  measures,  by  which  the  Gov 
ernment  lost  literally  millions,  the  people  were  subjected  to  heavy 
looses  and  trying  evils,  and  the  Democratic  party  for  the  time  de 
feated.  Distribution  had  its  origin  with  the  enemies  of  Mr.  Van 
Buren,  who  sought  to  organize  a  third  party,  which  should  hold 
tha  balance  of  power  in  Congress  by  the  management  of  the  pub 
lic  money — >or  rather  giving  it  away — so  as  to  make  that  party  a 
favorite.  It  was  intended  to  divide  the  Democratic  party,  then 
strong  and  powerful,  and  to  bring  such  men  as  William  C.  Rives, 
Nathaniel  P.  Tallmadge,  Hugh  L.  White,  and  others  prominently 
before  the  public  for  the  succession,  to  the  exclusion  of  Colonel 
Benton  and  Silas  Wright.  They  more  than  accomplished  their 
work.  They  not  only  temporarily  divided  and  in  that  way  de 
feated  the  Democratic  party,  but  they  prostrated  themselves,  and 
never  rose  again.  The  Whigs,  from  policy,  aided  in  the  division 
and  overthrow  of  the  Democratic  party,  hoping  to  prevent  Mr. 
Van  Buren's  reelection,  and  expecting  to  secure  a  President  from 
their  own  party.  In  this  they  were  not  disappointed.  Their 
President,  Harrison,  only  lived  a  month,  and  their  Vice-President, 
Tyler,  proved  more  fatal  to  their  party  than  distribution,  and  bank 
failures,  and  combinations  did  to  Mr.  Van  Buren  and  the  Demo 
cratic  party.  Of  the  sub-Treasury  growing  out  of  this  disastrous 
policy,  we  shall  hereafter 


74.— THE  SPECIE  CIRCULAR. 

Prior  to  the  adjournment  of  Congress  on  the  4tli  of  July, 
1836,  a  movement  was  made  by  Colonel  Benton  to  test  the  feel 
ing  of  Congress  on  the  subject  of  refusing  the  receipt  of  bank- 
paper  for  public  lands,  and  he  became  satisfied  that  no  action  un 
favorable  to  its  receipt  could  be  expected  from  that  body.  After 


164  DEMOCRACY   IN   THE    UNITED   STATES. 

the  adjournment  and  before  the  next  session,  General  Jackson 
became  satisfied  that  the  public  lauds  were  being  converted  into 
worthless  paper  at  the  rate  of  several  millions  per  month,  as  well 
as  saddling  upon  the  West  non-resident  land-owners,  who  would 
not  improve  the  lands,  but  would  withdraw  the  consideration 
when  sold,  which  was  expected  to  be  several  times  Government 
price.  The  first  would  injure  the  Treasury,  and  the  last  injure 
the  settlement  and  prosperity  of  the  West.  Nor  would  these 
distant  land  speculations  be  likely  to  prove  ultimately  beneficial 
to  Eastern  and  Northern  people  engaged  in  them.  Their  sales 
were  not  probable  until  a  far-distant  day,  and  the  profits  largely 
absorbed  in  paying  interest  on  money  borrowed  to  make  them,  in 
taxes,  agents'  fees,  and  journeys  to  look  after  such  lands.  The 
mania  for  these  speculations  was  wide-spread,  and  was  rife  every 
where,  even  in  Congress.  Makers  and  iudorsers  of  notes,  to  large 
amounts,  often  were  found  with  nothing  but  political  capital. 
Political  opponents  indorsed  for  each  other,  so  that  neither  party 
would  have  an  object  in  exposing  operations  and  partisans.  A 
Government  depository  at  Washington  had  exhausted  its  deposits, 
dividing  them  about  equally  between  partisans.  General  Jackson 
consulted  freely,  but  found  a  majority  of  his  Cabinet  opposed  to 
taking  any  measures  tending  to  eradicate  and  prevent  these  evils. 
Congress,  in  1816,  had  passed  a  joint  resolution  requiring  the 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury  to  adopt  such  measures  as  he  deemed 
proper,  to  cause  our  revenues  to  be  paid  in  legal  currency,  notes 
of  the  Bank  of  the  United  States,  or  specie-paying  State  banks. 
It  was  fair  to  say  that  this  resolution  authorized,  if  it  did  not 
require,  the  Secretary  to  exclude,  in  the  collection  of  the  revenue, 
all  bank-notes  that  were  not  readily  convertible  into  specie.  Gen 
eral  Jackson,  on  the  meeting  of  his  Cabinet,  instead  of  further 
advising,  announced  his  determination  to  issue  a  circular,  under 
this  resolution,  requiring  specie  in  all  cases  of  sale  of  the  public 
lands.  It  was  drawn  up  by  Colonel  Bcnton,  then  sitting  in  an 
adjoining  room,  engrossed  by  the  President's  secretary,  and  signed 
by  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury.  This  Specie  Circular  beino- 
sent  to  all  the  land-offices,  prevented  further  throwing  away  the 
public  lands.  Its  issue  was  one  of  the  President's  most  firm  and 


THE    SPECIE   CIRCULAR.  165 

useful  acts,  and  saved  the  nation  millions,  and  put  an  end  to  ill- 
timed  speculations  in  the  public  lands. 

Of  course  the  act  was  denounced  by  both  the  banks  and  specu 
lators,  and  a  variety  of  severe  epithets  were  applied  to  the  Presi 
dent.  But  he  remained  unmoved.  He  had  performed  his  duty, 
and  was  indifferent  to  consequences.  No  act  of  his  life  shows 
General  Jackson  to  better  advantage.  lie  was  in  very  bad  health 
and  was  soon  to  retire  from  office,  and  it  was  natural  that  he 
should  seek  peace  and  quiet,  and  to  be  on  agreeable  terms  with 
those  he  was  about  to  leave.  He  would  leave  a  friend  in  the 
Executive  chair  who  would  respect  his  advice  and  wishes.  But 
in  this  matter  omission  and  delay  were  treason  to  the  interest  of 
the  people.  No  consideration  could  induce  him  to  postpone  or 
avoid  duty.  He  made  the  order,  and  saved  in  the  value  of  our 
public  lands  nearly  the  amount  of  a  year's  expenses  of  the  Gov 
ernment.  The  few  sought  to  profit  by  the  continued  use  of  a 
worthless  paper  currency.  In  behalf  of  the  many  he  stepped  in 
and  prevented  it.  His  action  was  intended  to  secure  the  rights 
of  all  and  not  the  favored  ones,  and  he  prevented  the  better  parts 
of  the  West  from  becoming  the  property  of  non-resident  land 
holders,  which  is  a  curse  to  any  country.  In  this  measure  he 
stood  upon  democratic  ground,  and  the  Democracy  fully  sus 
tained  him,  while  the  anti-Democrats,  who  always  demand  and 
expect  to  enjoy  greater  privileges  than  the  masses,  condemned 
with  the  greatest  possible  bitterness.  At  the  next  session  his 
enemies  in  the  Senate  and  House  opened  a  furious  war  upon  him. 
Ent  it  all  ended  in  loud  and  hard  words ;  and  soon  after  the  4th 
of  March  he  parted  with  his  ardent  friends  and  admirers  at  Wash 
ington  and  returned  to  his  beloved  Hermitage.  The  last  time 
the  writer  saw  him,  he  was  sent  for  to  his  room.  His  venerable 
form  lay  prostrate  on  a  couch.  Opposite  his  head  and  in  front 
vras  a  small  light-stand,  on  which  lay  a  well-worn  Bible  and  Psalm- 
book  which  had  belonged  to  his  beloved  Rachel,  and  leaning 
against  them  was  a  miniature  of  her,  upon  which  he  gazed  when 
,'ilone.  A  more  striking  exhibition  of  devotion  to  the  memory 
of  a  departed  wife  cannot  be  found  on  record.  They  now  sleep 
in  the  same  tomb  at  the  Hermitage. 


166  DEMOCRACY    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

75.— THOMAS  H.  BENTON. 

Colonel  Benton  made  his  mark  in  American  history,  and  his 
name  is  widely  known  to  the  world.  Though  some,  who  did  not 
know  him  well,  charged  him  with  being  dogmatical,  no  one  has 
ever  had  the  hardihood  to  accuse  him  of  dishonesty  or  suggested 
that  his  motives  were  selfish.  He  labored  hard  in  his  investiga 
tions,  formed  opinions  for  himself,  and  maintained  them  with 
firmness  and  ability.  They  were  honest  opinions,  and  conscien 
tiously  and  manfully  defended,  whoever  might  assail  them.  lie 
was  born  in  North  Carolina  in  1782,  and  died  at  Washington  in 
1858.  His  education  was  originally  imperfect,  but  liberally  sup 
plied  in  after-years  by  his  own  exertions.  His  father  dying  when 
he  was  quite  young,  his  mother  removed  to  Tennessee,  and  occu 
pied  lands  he  had  left  his  family.  Here  young  Benton  studied 
law,  and  commenced  practice.  While  thus  employed,  he  became 
one  of  General  Jackson's  staff  in  the  militia,  with  the  rank  of  colo 
nel,  which  title  he  always  retained.  In  the  War  of  1812  he  served 
in  a  volunteer  regiment  under  General  Jackson,  and  when  that  was 
disbanded,  President  Madison  commissioned  him  a  lieutenant- 
colonel  in  the  army,  but,  before  reaching  his  regiment  in  Canada, 
peace  rendered  his  services  unnecessary  and  he  resigned,  and  went 
to  St.  Louis  to  reside,  where  he  devoted  himself  to  his  profession. 
He  thoroughly  identified  himself  with  the  interests  of  the  West, 
and  became  their  leading  and  most  prominent  advocate.  He  was 
elected  a  Senator  in  Congress  by  the  Legislature  of  Missouri,  but, 
owing  to  difficulties  concerning  her  admission,  he  did  not  take 
his  seat  until  1821,  after  which  he  served  continuously  in  the 
Senate  for  thirty  years,  until  1851,  and  subsequently  two  years  in 
the  House  from  the  St.  Louis  district.  After  his  retirement  from 
Congress  he  devoted  himself  principally  to  the  production  and 
publication  of  two  great  works — "Thirty  Years  in  the  United 
States  Senate,"  and  an  "Abridgment  of  the  Debates  in  Con 
gress."  The  latter  lie  had  hardly  completed  when  he  died. 

Colonel  Benton  possessed  a  powerful  frame,  enjoyed  excellent 
health,  had  a  vigorous  intellect,  and  a  memory  of  wonderful  te 
nacity  and  accuracy.  lie  could  endure  as  great  an  amount  of  labor 


THOMAS    H.    BENTON.  167 

as  any  other  person ;  and  .often,  when  any  pressing  emergency 
seer.ied  to  him  to  require  it,  contented  himself  with  only  from 
two  to  four  hours  of  rest  and  sleep  in  twenty-four.  With  his  reten 
tive  memory,  and  such  persevering  industry,  he  was  seldom  found 
wai  ting  in  complete  preparation  to  meet  and  discuss  any  question 
that  arose.  After  making  an  off-hand  speech,  he  has  been  known 
to  report  it  himself  verbatim,  without  changing  a  word  in  his 
maMUscript.  His  great  devotion  to  business  was  often  mistaken 
for  coldness  or  haughty  reserve.  He  never  stooped  to  petty  ex 
pedients  to  carry  a  point.  He  deemed  his  publicly-expressed 
reasons  as  quite  sufficient  to  satisfy  the  minds  of  others  why  he 
acted.  He  often  moved  measures  alone  when  others  would  not 
or  dared  not  follow,  and  time  usually  proved  him  to  be  right. 

When  he  believed  himself  right  he  did  not  hesitate  to  move, 
even  alone,  as  in  the  case  of  his  first  attack  on  the  Bank  of  the 
United  States.  This  proves,  that  he  was  far  more  devoted  to 
principle  than  to  expediency  and  policy.  He  seldom  quoted  the 
authority  of  names,  relying  more  upon  reasoning  and  illustrations 
from  history.  He  was  remarkable  for  self-possession,  and  the 
fearlessness  with  which  he  spoke  and  voted.  He  was  a  fast  friend 
and  a  vigorous  opponent,  whom  few  wished  to  encounter.  He 
was  no  friend  of  needless  forms  and  ceremonies,  but  always  ad 
hered  to  such  etiquette  as  he  believed  necessary  to  support  the 
dignity  of  his  senatorial  position.  As  members  of  the  Cabinet 
could  not  become  such  without  the  consent  of  the  Senate,  and  as 
foreign  ministers  did  not  rank  above  them,  he  never  made  the  first 
call  upon  either,  except  when  business  demanded  it. 

No  Senator  was  ever  more  familiar  with  our  public  affairs,  or 
was  more  felt  in  their  discussion.  He  did  not  sustain  President 
Adams  during  his  administration,  but  he  gave  General  Jackson, 
Mr.  Van  Buren,  and  Mr.  Polk  most  hearty  support.  He  headed 
those  who  resisted  the  efforts  of  the  Bank  of  the  United  States  to 
obtain  a  recharter,  and  defended  with  irresistible  force  General 
Jackson's  vetoes,  removal  of  the  deposits,  and  Specie  Circular. 
He  united  cordially  with  Silas  Wright  in  his  efforts  to  establish  our 
Treasury  upon  a  solid  basis,  and  to  divorce  the  State  from  banks, 
as  recommended  by  Mr.  Yan  Buren.  He  resisted  both  the  first 


168  DEMOCRACY   IN   THE    UNITED    STATES. 

and  last  distribution  schemes,  and  predicted  their  disastrous  re 
sults,  lie  was  faithful  in  his  support  of  all  Democratic  measures. 
The  offer  to  place  our  army  under  his  general  direction  during  the 
Mexican  War  was  wisely  declined.  The  post  of  his  greatest  usefulness 
was  elsewhere,  while,  if  at  the  head  of  the  army,  it  was  liable  soon 
to  become  disorganized  and  diminished  in  energy  and  usefulness. 

Colonel  Benton  took  strong  ground  against  nullification,  and 
made  some  of  his  greatest  efforts  to  sustain  the  cause  of  the 
Union  against  that  heresy.  His  steel  was  so  much  felt  by  Mr. 
Calhoun,  that  he  never  forgave  or  afterward  associated  with  him. 
Having,  at  an  early  day,  examined  our  rights  to  Oregon  and  their 
extent,  when  the  question  of  its  boundary  arose,  he  took  ground 
for  the  line  of  49°  instead  of  54°  40',  and  carried  the  country 
with  him.  He  took  strong  ground  against  what  he  called  the 
11  trick,"  in  the  annexation  of  Texas,  and  firmly  opposed  Mr. 
Douglas's  amended  bill,  repealing  the  Missouri  Compromise. 
He  predicted  where  the  matter  would  end.  Colonel  Benton  was 
honest,  sincere,  and  fearless  in  his  political  views,  always  regretting 
a  difference  of  opinion  with  friends.  The  great  efforts  of  his  life 
were  designed* to  secure  to  the  masses  that  protection  and  inde 
pendence  which  the  Constitution  intended  to  secure  to  them. 
His  invectives  against  those  who  sought  to  use  the  Government 
as  a  machine  to  make  money,  or  promote  private  ends,  were  ter 
rible.  He  believed  in  and  defended  equality  of  rights  and  bur 
dens,  and  always  set  his  face  like  steel  against  class  legislation, 
so  often  pressed  for  the  benefit  of  the  few.  To  defend  the  right, 
there  was  no  hazard  too  great  for  him  to  run.  He  was  most 
efficient  in  his  efforts  to  restore  and  continue  gold  as  a  currency, 
and  the  country  was  indebted  to  him  more  than  to  any  other 
man  for  our  having  enjoyed  this  constitutional  measure  of  values 
for  a  quarter  of  a  century.  He  was  a  firm  opponent  of  sectional 
ism,  from  the  time  it  sought  to  prevent  Missouri  coming  into  the 
Union  to  the  end  of  his  life.  He  always  feared  it  would  end  in 
destroying  the  Union.  The  memory  of  Colonel  Benton  will  ever 
be  cherished  as  one  of  the  most  firm,  consistent,  and  useful 
Democrats  of  his  day.  Christening  him  as  "  Old  Bullion  "  tends 
to  strengthen  the  attachment  of  the  Democracy  for  him. 


DISTEIBUTION    OF   THE    PUBLIC    LANDS,    ETC.  169 

76.— DISTRIBUTION  OF  THE  PUBLIC  LANDS,  AND  LAND  SALES. 

Since  the  establishment  of  the  Government  there  has  seldom 
been  a  time  when  some  politician,  or  political  party,  has  not  been 
engaged  in  fostering  or  executing  plans  to  secure  improved  posi 
tion  by  the  use  or  management  of  our  public  resources.  It  is  a 
strong  element  amo-ng  the  anti-democratic  principles.  From  the 
organization  of  the  Western  States,  down  to  near  the  present 
time,  there  have  been  large  bodies  of  public  lands  within  their 
limits ;  while,  at  the  same  time,  these  States  have  exercised  an 
important,  if  not  a  preponderant  influence  in  presidential  elections. 
Hence,  whoever  secured  the  support  of  these  States,  entered  the 
presidential  contest  with  a  respectable  capital.  It  will,  therefore, 
disappoint  no  one  to  learn  that  there  have  been  numerous  efforts 
made  to  secure  their  good-will.  During  the  last  year  of  General 
Jackson's  administration,  Mr.  Calhoun  brought  forward  a  plan  for 
the  cession  of  all  the  public  lands  to  the  States  in  which  they  lay, 
to  be  sold  by  them  at  graduated  prices,  extending  over  a  term  of 
tl;irty-five  years — the  States  to  bear  the  expenses,  and  to  pay  over 
to  the  General  Government  a  third  of  their  receipts.  This  proposi 
tion  was  denounced  by  the  friends  of  General  Jackson  as  a  palpa 
ble  bid  for  Western  and  Southern  support  for  the  presidency,  and, 
on  coming  to  a  vote,  received  only  the  vote  of  Mr.  Calhoun  and 
five  others. 

When  the  Whigs  brought  forward  their  measure  for  distribut 
ing  the  proceeds  of  the  sales  of  the  public  lands,  Mr.  Calhoun 
again  brought  forward  his  measure  of  ceding  the  public  lands  to 
the  States  in  which  they  lay,  to  be  sold,  and  a  portion  of  the  pro 
ceeds  paid  over  to  the  national  Government,  but  without  success. 

The  general  distribution  of  1836  having  proved  so  unfortu 
nate,  a  different  one  was  proposed  by  the  Whigs,  based  upon  the 
same  motives  concerning  the  vote  of  the  Western  States  that  had 
been  manifested  by  Mr.  Calhouu.  It  was  for  the  Federal  Govern 
ment  to  sell  the  public  lands,  and  pay  over  to  Ohio,  Indiana,  Illi 
nois,  Alabama,  Missouri,  Mississippi,  Louisiana,  Arkansas,  and 
Michigan  ten  per  cent,  of  the  net  proceeds,  and  the  residue  to  be 
divided  among  all  the  States,  including  these.  These  provisions 


170  DEMOCRACY   IN   THE   UNITED    STATES. 

became  a  law  at  the  session  called  by  the  President,  during  the 
first  year  of  the  Harrison-Tyler  administration,  on  the  4th  of  Sep 
tember,  1841.  This  new  distribution  was  strongly  opposed  by 
Democratic  Senators  and  members,  but,  being  in  a  minority,  their 
efforts  proved  ineffectual  to  defeat  it. 

Like  its  predecessor,  this  measure  proved  Mai  to  the  public 
interests,  and  had  to  be  suspended,  and  virtually  repealed  in  less 
than  a  year  from  its  enactment.  The  compromise  Tariff  Act  of 
1833  provided  for  the  biennial  diminution  of  duties  at  the  rate  of 
ten  per  cent.,  in  all  cases  where  they  exceeded  twenty  per  cent., 
and  all  duties  were  reduced  to  twenty  per  cent,  on  the  30th  of 
June,  1842.  It  was  apparent  to  all,  that  twenty  per  cent,  on  our 
importations  would  not  pay  the  necessary  expenses  of  the  Gov 
ernment.  From  the  peculiar  manner  of  enacting,  amending,  and 
repealing  laws  by  Congress,  it  became  a  question,  in  the  minds  of 
some,  whether  the  collection  of  any  duties  at  all  could  be  en 
forced.  The  Government  almost  came  to  a  stand-still.  Two 
remedial  provisions  were  necessary  to  put  it  in  motion — to  abro 
gate  the  land  distribution  and  increase  the  tariff — both  of  which 
received  the  sanction  of  Congress  in  August,  1842.  It  was 
mortifying  to  those  who  carried  this  land  distribution  to  see  it 
perish  so  early — too  early  to  affect  a  single  presidential  election, 
and  especially  to  see  every  one  of  the  States,  except  Ohio,  to 
whom  this  great  temptation  was  held  out,  vote  for  and  secure  the 
election  of  James  K.  Polk,  the  Democratic  candidate. 

In  this  distribution  act  there  was  a  clear  wrong  and  a  palpable 
violation  of  the  Constitution.  The  sales  of  the  public  lands  pro 
duced  "revenue,"  both  in  the  literal  and  popular  sense  of  the 
term.  It  is  equally  revenue,  whether  derived  from  duties,  imposts, 
excises,  or  the  sale  of  property.  They  all  equally  produce  funds 
for  the  Government  Treasury — they  are,  as  stated  in  the  best 
law  dictionary,  "  what  is  returned."  Under  the  Constitution,  all 
revenues  must  be  devoted  to  paying  national  debts,  and  providing 
for  the  common  defence  and  general  welfare.  It  cannot  lawfully 
be  applied  to  any  other  purpose.  A  great  wrong  was  attempted. 
Its  failure  was  not  owing  to  a  disposition  to  renounce  the  wrong 
and  correct  the  error,  but  to  the  consequences  of  the  previous 


DISUNION   IN   ITS    EAKLY   STAGES.  1Y1 

wrong  in  the  distribution  of  1836,  and  in  the  want  of  statesman 
ship  in  those  in  power,  in  not  providing  revenue  equal  to  the 
necessities  of  the  Government,  instead  of  unlawfully  distributing 
it.  These  distributions  were  in  conflict  with  democratic  princi 
ples,  which  forbid  any  such  disposition  of  our  public  moneys. 

77.— DISUNION  IN  ITS  EARLY  STAGES. 
Washington  was  a  careful  observer  of  passino-  events.     lie  un- 

&  JT  O 

dcubtediy  saw  specks  as  well  as  clouds  of  disunion  before  he  pre 
pared  his  Farewell  Address.  In  it  he  cautions  the  American  people 
to  be  on  their  guard  against  both,  and  to  repress  them  when 
seen  arising.  Sectionalism  is  one  of  the  instrumentalities  of  dis 
union,  if  not  the  father  of  it.  The  very  year  in  which  the  Fare 
well  Address  was  issued,  the  Hartford  Courant  published  a  care 
fully-prepared  series  of  papers  urging  a  dissolution  of  the  Union. 
Washington  wrote  with  a  knowledge  of  these  in  his  mind.  Among 
o'Jier  things  this  writer  said : 

"  The  Northern  States  can  subsist  as  a  nation,  as  a  republic, 
without  any  connection  with  the  Southern.  It  cannot  be  con 
tested,  that  if  the  Southern  States  wTere  possessed  of  the  same 
political  ideas,  a  union  would  be  still  more  desirable  than  a 
separation.  But  when  it  becomes  a  serious  question,  whether  we 
shall  give  up  our  government,  or  part  with  the  States  south  of  the 
Potomac,  no  man  north  of  that  river,  whose  heart  is  not  thor 
oughly  democratic,  can  hesitate  what  decision  to  make 

]  shall,  in  future  papers,  consider  some  of  the  great  events  which 
will  lead  to  a  separation  of  the  United  States;  show  the  impor 
tance  of  retaining  their  present  Constitution,  even  at  the  expense 
of  a  separation ;  endeavor  to  prove  the  impossibility  of  a  union 
for  any  long  period  in  future,  both  from  moral  and  political  habits 
of  the  citizens  of  the  Southern  States ;  and,  finally,  examine  care 
fully  to  see  whether  we  have  not  already  approached  the  era  when 
they  must  be  divided." 

Among  the  charges  made  against  the  South,  the  following, 
which  has  been  a  thousand  times  repeated  since,  without  the 
slightest  foundation  to  rest  upon,  would  do  credit  to  the  aboli 
tionists  of  the  present  generation  : 


172  DEMOCRACY   IN   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

"  Negroes  are,  in  all  respects,  except  in  regard  to  life  and  death, 
the  cattle  of  the  citizens  of  the  Southern  States.  If  they  were 
good  for  food,  the  probability  is,  that  even  the  power  of  destroy 
ing  their  lives  would  be  enjoyed  by  their  owners,  as  fully  as  it 
is  over  the  lives  of  their  cattle.  It  cannot  be  that  their  laws  pro 
hibit  owners  from  killing  their  slaves,  because  those  slaves  are 
human  beings,  or  because  it  is  a  moral  evil  to  destroy  them.  If 
that  were  the  case,  how  can  they  justify  their  being  treated  in  all 
other  respects  like  brutes  ?  for  it  is  in  this  point  of  view  alone  that 
negroes  in  the  Southern  States  are  considered  in  fact  as  different 
from  cattle.  They  are  bought  and  sold — they  are  fed  or  kept  hun 
gry — they  are  clothed  or  reduced  to  nakedness — they  are  beaten, 
turned  out  to  the  fury  of  the  elements,  and  torn  from  their  dear 
est  connections,  with  as  little  remorse  as  if  they  were  beasts  of  the 
field." 

We  have  given  elsewhere  the  testimony  of  Mr.  John  Quincy 
Adams  and  Governor  Plummer  on  this  subject.  Their  evidence 
covers  a  period  of  some  ten  years  after  the  purchase  of  Louisiana. 
This  evidence  is  full,  clear,  and  irresistible.  It  involves  the  names 
of  Timothy  Pickering,  James  Hillhouse,  Roger  Griswold,  Samuel 
Hunt,  Aaron  Burr,  Uriah  Tracy,  and  others. 

No  one  who  knew  them  will  question  the  veracity  of  Mr. 
Adams  or  Governor  Plummer.  They  fasten  upon  the  Federal 
party  the  avowed  intention,  in  Jefferson's  time,  to  dissolve  the 
Union,  and  Mr.  Adams  says  it  continued  until  the  catastrophe  of 
the  Hartford  Convention.  No  one  has  ever  pretended  to  connect  the 
Democratic  party  with  it.  The  plan  of  operations  was  through 
the  State  Legislatures,  in  which  Southern  secession  followed  their 
plan.  The  difference  between  them  was,  the  one  countenanced  and 
intended  treason,  and  the  other  acted  it — many  of  them  by  com 
pulsion  and  against  their  will.  The  ghost  that  Pickering  said 
haunted  Washington,  seems  to  have  revelled  in  New  England  with 
the  Federal  party,  and  then  appeared  open  on  the  stage  in  the  land 
of  Dixie,  with  helmet,  shield,  and  bludgeon,  and  then  disappeared 
when  the  shrill  notes  of  the  American  eagle  were  triumphantly  sound 
ed.  Disunion  still  lurks  in  the  hearts  of  descendants  of  these  old  Fede 
ralists  in  New  England  to  the  present  time,  and  occasionally  sounds 


173 

its  hoarse  notes  in  denouncing  the  Constitution  as  "  a  covenant 
with  death  and  an  agreement  with  hell,"  in  hurling  anathemas 
against  all  who  sustain  Democratic  principles.  Washington  un 
derstood  these  men,  and  pointed  out  the  danger.  Neither  they 
nor  their  purposes  change.  As  a  distinguished  New-Yorker  once 
said  of  a  politician,  "that  he  had  rather  rule  in  hell  than  serve  in 
heaven."  The  Constitution  is  good  and  the  Government  wise  and 
safe,  if  they  can  control  it.  But,  in  the  hands  of  the  Democracy, 
every  thing  is  wrong  and  intolerable.  Those  actuated  by  anti- 
Democratic  principles  will  never  be  satisfied  when  such  principles 
prevail  and  Democrats  administer  the  Government.  With  them, 
disunion  is  preferable. 

IS.— WASHINGTON'S  FAREWELL  ADDRESS. 

Washington  had  a  hold  upon  the  affections  of  his  countrymen 
never  excelled  and  seldom  equalled.  He  was  called  the  Savior 
and  the  Father  of  his  country.  Most  of  the  people  cherished  for 
him  the  feelings  which  children  entertain  toward  a  father,  and  he 
felt  for  them  as  for  children.  The  people  placed  implicit  confi 
dence  in  his  wisdom  and  patriotism,  and  looked  to  him  for  that 
advice  so  necessary  in  a  young  Government.  He  had  passed 
through  the  perils  and  vicissitudes  of.  war,  and  the  anxieties  and 
inquietudes  of  peace,  and  formed  the  resolution  to  retire  to  the 
peaceful  shades  of  his  own  Mount  Vernon.  He  was  appealed  to 
by  those  near  him  for  a  parting  word  of  advice,  which  might  add 
to  the  value  of  the  services  he  had  rendered  his  country.  It  was  sug 
gested  to  him  that  it  would  be  the  cloud  by  day  and  the  pillar  of 
fire  by  night  to  guide  his  countrymen  in  leading  them  in  the  path 
safety.  He  complied  with  their  request,  and  issued  his  Farewell  of 
Address,  dated  September,  1796.  The  country  then  had  its  dan 
gers  and  perils  to  encounter,  but  was  too  weak  and  feeble,  and  had 
too  many  external  enemies  to  fear,  to  leave  room  for  suspicion  that 
disunion  would  ever  be  thought  of,  much  less  attempted.  All 
were  laboring  for  safety  and  seeking  happiness  in  prosperity.  It 
was  under  these  circumstances  that  he  gave  his  cautions  and  ten 
dered  his  advice.  The  following  extracts  will  serve  as  examples : 

"  The  unity  of  Government  which  constitutes  you  one  people 


174  DEMOCRACY   IN   THE   UNITED    STATES. 

is  also  now  dear  to  you.  It  is  justly  so,  for  it  is  a  main  pillar  in 
the  edifice  of  your  real  independence,  the  support  of  your  tran 
quillity  at  home,  your  peace  abroad ;  of  your  prosperity,  of  that 
very  liberty  you  so  highly  prize.  But  as  it  is  easy  to  foresee  that, 
from  different  causes  and  from  different  quarters,  much  pains  will 
be  taken,  many  artifices  employed,  to  weaken  in  your  minds  the 
conviction  of  this  truth — as  this  is  the  point  in  your  political  for 
tress  against  which  the  batteries  of  internal  and  external  enemies 
will  be  most  constantly  and  actively  (although  often  covertly  and 
insidiously)  directed,  it  is  of  infinite  moment  that  you  should 
properly  estimate  the  immense  value  of  your  national  Union  to 
your  collective  and  individual  happiness ;  that  you  should  cherish 
a  cordial,  habitual,  and  immovable  attachment  to  it;  accustoming 
yourselves  to  think  and  to  speak  of  it  as  a  palladium  of  your  po 
litical  safety  and  prosperity ;  watching  for  its  preservation  with 
jealous  anxiety  ;  discountenancing  whatever  may  suggest  even  a 
suspicion  that  it  can  in  any  event  be  abandoned ;  and  indignantly 
frowning  upon  the  first  dawning  of  every  attempt  to  alienate  any 
portion  of  the  country  from  the  rest,  or  to  enfeeble  the  sacred  tics 
which  now  link  together  the  various  parts.  .  .  . 

"The  North,  in  an  unrestrained  intercourse  with  the  South, 
protected  by  the  equal  laws  of  a  common  Government,  finds  in 
the  productions  of  the  latter  great  additional  resources  of  mari 
time  and  commercial  enterprise,  and  precious  materials  of  manu 
facturing  industry.  The  South,  in  the  same  intercourse,  benefit 
ing  by  the  same  agency  of  the  North,  sees  its  agriculture  grow 
and  its  commerce  expand.  Turning  partly  into  its  own  channels 
the  seamen  of  the  North,  it  finds  its  particular  navigation  invigo 
rated  ;  and  while  it  contributes  in  different  ways  to  nourish  and 
increase  the  general  mass  of  the  national  navigation,  it  looks  for 
ward  to  the  protection  of  a  maritime  strength  to  which  itself  is 
unequally  adapted.  The  East,  in  like  intercourse  with  the  West, 
in  the  progressive  improvement  of  interior  communications  by 
land  and  water,  will  more  and  more  find  a  valuable  vent  for  the 
commodities  which  it  brings  from  abroad  or  manufactures  at 
home.  The  West  derives  from  the  East  supplies  requisite  to  its 
growth  and  comfort ;  and,  what  is  perhaps  of  still  greater  conse- 


175 

qucnce,  it  must  of  necessity  owe  the  secure  enjoyment  of  the  in 
dispensable  outlets  for  its  own  productions  to  the  weight,  influ 
ence,  and  future  maritime  strength  of  the  Atlantic  side  of  the 
Union,  directed  by  an  indissoluble  community  of  interests,  as  one 
nation.  Any  other  tenure  by  which  the  West  can  hold  tins  es 
sential  advantage,  whether  derived  from  its  own  separate  strength 
01  from  an  apostate  and  unnatural  connection  with  any  foreign 
power,  must  be  intrinsically  precarious.  .  .  . 

"  In  contemplating  the  causes  which  may  disturb  our  union,  it 
occurs  as  a  matter  of  serious  concern,  that  any  ground  should 
have  been  furnished  for  characterizing  parties  by  geographical 
discriminations — Northern  and  Southern,  Atlantic  and  Western  ; 
whence  designing  men  may  endeavor  to  excite  a  belief  that  there  is 
a  real  difference  of  local  interests  and  views.  One  of  the  expedients 
of  party  to  acquire  influence  within  particular  districts  is,  to  mis 
represent  the  opinions  and  aims  of  other  districts.  You  cannot 
shield  yourselves  too  much  against  the  jealousies  and  heart-burnings 
which  spring  from  these  misrepresentations.  They  tend  to  render 
alien  to  each  other  those  who  ought  to  be  bound  together  by  fra 
ternal  affection.  .  .  . 

"  As  a  very  important  source  of  strength  and  security,  cherish 
public  credit.  One  method  of  preserving  it  is,  to  use  it  as  spar 
ingly  as  possible,  avoiding  occasions  of  expense  by  cultivating 
peace-,  but  remembering,  also,  that  timely  disbursements  to  pre 
pare  for  danger  frequently  prevent  much  greater  disbursements  to 
repel  it;  avoiding  likewise  the  accumulation  of  debt,  not  only  by 
shunning  occasions  of  expense,  but  by  vigorous  exertions  in  time 
of  peace  to  discharge  the  debts  which  unavoidable  wars  have  oc 
casioned,  not  ungenerously  throwing  upon  posterity  the  burden 
which  we  ourselves  ought  to  bear." 

These  are  words  of  wisdom,  and  should  command  the  entire 
respect  of  every  American.  Had  they  been  heard  and  observed, 
the  whispers  of  separation  of  that  day  would  never  have  oc 
curred  nor  the  growl  of  secession  at  the  embargo,  or  the  threats 
of  disunion  in  the  times  of  the  Ilartford  Convention.  Nullifica 
tion  would  not  have  shown  its  snaky  head,  nor  abolition  issued 
its  fierce  denunciations,  to  be  met  by  counter-blasts  from  the 


176  DEMOCRACY    IN   TUE   UNITED    STATES. 

South,  nor  war  shown  its  frowning,  furious  front ;  nor,  when  it  was 
over,  would  there  have  followed  under  the  name  of  peace  a  con 
flict  worse  than  war,  by  the  addition  of  pestilence  and  famine, 
with  liberty  and  the  Constitution  crushed  out,  and  men  groaning 
and  perishing  under  legislative  intolerance  and  fury,  and  the  iron 
hand  of  military  tyranny.  That  Washington  consulted  Madison 
in  preparing  this  address,  who  probably  wrote  most  of  it,  is  a  fact 
that  belongs  to  the  record  of  Democracy. 

79.— SILAS  WRIGHT. 

In  1847,  at  the  time  of  his  death,  no  man  in  the  United  States 
had  a  stronger  hold  upon  the  confidence  of  the  American  people 
than  Silas  Wright.  The  son  of  a  Vermont  fanner,  he  had  ac 
quired  and  preserved  the  tastes,  habits,  and  many  of  the  manners 
of  that  invaluable  and  reliable  class  of  people.  He  had  risen,  by 
mind  alone,  from  a  simple  town  officer  to  that  of  United  States 
Senator  and  Chief  Magistrate  of  the  great  State  of  New  York. 
In  Canton,  -N.  Y.,  where  he  resided,  he  cheerfully  served  his 
neighbors  in  various  town  offices,  including  that  of  path-master, 
working  with  his  own  hands  on  the  highways.  In  the  militia  he 
had  served  from  captain  to  brigadier,  and  in  the  civil  service  from 
a  justice  of  the  peace  to  the  high  court  for  the.  correction  of  errors 
— the  latter  in  virtue  of  the  office  of  State  Senator.  His  service 
in  the  House  of  Representatives  was  followed  by  the  more  im 
portant  one  of  Comptroller  of  the  State,  and  that  followed  by  the 
still  higher  one  of  United  States  Senator.  His  last  public  service 
was  as  Governor  of  the  State  in  1845-'46.  For  no  one  of  these 
places  did  he  make  himself  a  candidate,  but  in  each  was  the  se 
lected  leader  of  others.  No  one  ever  complained  of  the  manner 
in  which  he  performed  the  duties  of  any  station  he  ever  held.  He 
was  of  medium  size,  erect,  and  active  in  all  his  movements,  pos 
sessing  indomitable  energy  and  perseverance.  His  appearance 
was  prepossessing,  and  his  manners  simple,  but  those  of  a  gentle 
man,  combining  elegant  courtesy  with  sincerity.  lie  was  polite 
to  all,  and  overbearing  to  none.  As  a  magistrate,  he  was  the  set 
tler  instead  of  the  promoter  of  litigation.  As  a  surrogate,  he 
was  the  able  and  conscientious  adviser  of  all  having  business  be- 


SILAS    WEIGHT.  177 

fore  him.  As  a  lawyer,  he  has  been  known  to  lock  his  client  with 
Irs  adversary  in  a  room  iflitil  they  settled  their  difficulties.  As  a 
neighbor,  he  was  the  standard  of  comparison  for  every  thing  good. 
As  a  friend,  he  was  the  most  reliable.  He  even  declined,  when 
offered  by  President  Tyler,  what  he  would  have  preferred  to  all 
other  offices  in  the  world,  a  seat  on  the  bench  of  the  Supreme 
Court,  because  of  his  attachment  to  Mr.  Van  Buren,  not  being 
willing  to  desert  him  during  his  contest  for  the  presidency.  He 
was  placed  in  the  Senate  by  his  political  friends,  expecting  he 
Avould  stand  \$f  Mr.  Van  Buren,  and  neither  his  inclination  nor  his 
duty  would  permit  him  to  disappoint  this  expectation  of  his  friends. 
.During  the  canvass  for  Governor,  the  writer  had  occasion  to  say 
what  he  knew  of  Mr.  Wright,  and  among  other  things  stated : 

"  Whatever  tended  to  promote  the  substantial  interests  of 
his  town  was  certain  to  receive  his  attention.  The  construction 
of  roads  and  bridges,  the  erection  of  churches  and  public  edifices, 
were  objects  that  attracted  his  early  attention,  and  were  essentially 
promoted  by  the  labor  of  his  own  hands.  "Until  public  duty 
called  him  away,  he  often  acted  as  path-master  in  his  district,  and 
personally  performed  as  much  labor  as  any  citizen.  A  competi 
tion  between  his  and  other  districts  led  to  results  still  visible  in 
his  town.  In  case  of  sickness  he  was  always  the  first  to  offer  his 
services.  I  have  known  him  to  walk  miles  in  stormy  weather, 
over  muddy  roads,  to  watch  with  the  sick.  No  one  performed 
this  task  more  frequently  or  cheerfully.  No  one  is  more'  devoid 
of  selfishness.  During  my  long  acquaintance,  I  never  knew  him 
to  be  laying  plans  for  pecuniary  gain  or  personal  advancement. 
No  man  has  ever  accused  him  of  doing  a  personal  Avrong  or  any 
injustice.  He  always  fulfils  his  engagements,  of  every  description, 
with  scrupulous  fidelity.  The  example  of  Mr.  Wright  on  this,  as 
on  many  other  subjects,  has  exerted  a  most  salutary  influence 
upon  the  citizens  of  his  town,  often  noticed  and  frequently  men 
tioned  by  the  people  of  other  towns.  There  are  but  few  among 
his  neighbors,  of  either  party,  who  do  not  feel  heartily  proud  of 
him,  and  manifest  an  anxiety  to  act  so  as  to  meet  his  approval. 
His  frankness  and  sincerity  have  made  impressions  upon  his 
friends  and  associates,  which  a  stranger  will  readily  notice." 
8* 


178  DEMOCRACY   IN   THE   UNITED    STATES. 

Such  was  his  real  character,  as  seen  in  his  every-day  life,  by 
those  who  knew  him  best.  It  was  not  only  the  old  and  middle- 
aged  that  became  attached  to  him,  but  the  young,  and  even  chil 
dren,  would  arrange  themselves  where  he  was  expected  to  walk,  to 
receive  his  recognition  and  to  be  made  happy  by  his  kind  re 
marks.  More  than  thirty  years  ago,  a  sort  of  a  fairy  young  miss, 
from  the  Green  Mountain  State,  was  asked  why  she  liked  him. 
Her  answer,  full  of  the  real  philosophy  of  life,  was  this :  "  He  al 
ways  speaks  so  kind  to  me."  She  still  lives  in  the  first  town  in 
that  State,  and  practises  the  great  philosophical  principle  which 
she  unconsciously  announced. 

Mr.  Wright  was  not  free  from  temper  and  strong  impulses, 
but  they  were  under  the  most  absolute  control.  Upon  only  two 
occasions  were  they  ever  shown :  one,  when  Daniel  D.  Barnard,  in 
Congress,  spoke  slightingly  of  his  parents,  and  called  him,  then 
a  member  of  the  House  of  Eepresentatives,  a  mere  county  court 
lawyer,  and  another,  when  it  was  evident  that  the  vote  of  a  New 
York  member  and  messmate  had  been  tampered  with  on  a  pending 
question. 

A  more  honest  and  conscientious  man  never  lived.  It  was  an 
inflexible  rule  with  him,  in  all  matters  between  him  and  his  neigh 
bors,  never  to  take  the  doubtful  penny.  Before  leaving  in  the 
fall  to  attend  the  Senate,  he  inventoried  every  thing  he  had  in  a 
book,  and  whenever  there  was  a  private  understanding  between 
him  and  another,  such  as  postponing  the  payment  of  a  note,  or 
bond,  a  memorandum  was  always  made  of  it  in  the  proper  place 
in  this  book.  He  kept  his  business  so  snug,  that  when  he  died 
his  only  debts  were  the  wages  of  his  hired  man  for  the  current 
month  and  a  shilling  to  a  blacksmith  for  work  done  a  day  or 
two  before. 

His  industry  was  proverbial.  When  at  home,  he  labored  on 
his  small  farm  beside  his  assistant,  performing  quite  his  share  of 
the  work.  As  Comptroller,  he  was  indefatigable  in  his  duties,  and 
was  perfect  master  of  the  whole  of  the  extensive  business  of  that 
oflice.  While  in  the  Senate,  no  one  performed  a  greater  amount 
of  committee  duty.  Whatever  devolved  upon  him  was  performed 
with  his  own  hand.  Even  when  chairman  of  the  Committee  on 


SILAS   WRIGHT.  179 

Finance  he  always  refused  to  have  a  clerk,  as  is  now  the  fashion  of 
most  committees  in  Congress.  One  consequence  was,  that  his  re 
ports,  bills,  and  remarks,  were  free  from  blunders.  To  avoid  the 
interruption  of  company,  he  very  often  left  his  own  committee- 
room  and  worked  in  another.  To  relieve  the  brain  when  over 
worked,  he,  like  the  distinguished  Meredith,  read  light  works 
which  he  did  not  attempt  to  remember.  When  young,  and  in 
his  law-office,  he  was  an  incessant  reader  of  Shakespeare.  He 
was  then  a  liberal  smoker,  to  quiet  his  nerves,  and  frequently  left 
his  bed  for  that  purpose.  He  was  exceedingly  fond  of  hunting 
and  fishing,  and  frequently  shouldered  his  pack  and  went  with 
friends  to  that  vast  wilderness  lying  between  the  settled  parts  of 
St.  Lawrence  and  Saratoga  and  Montgomery,  commonly  called 
"  John  Brown's  Tract."  On  such  occasions  he  always  sustained 
his  full  share  of  the  hardships. 

He  never  engaged  in  speculations,  being  content  with  the  slow 
gains  of  his  labor.  On  two  occasions,  friends,  Avithout  his  knowl 
edge,  made  in  his  name  subscriptions  in  two  companies,  which  he 
did  not  feel  at  liberty  to  disavow,  although  against  his  wishes,  in 
one  of  which  there  was  a  small  profit,  and  in  the  other  a  loss 
quite  sufficient  to  balance  the  account. 

In  dress  he  was  neat,  but  plain  and  simple.  He  was  only 
anxious  to  appear  respectable  in  his  position.  Although  appar 
ently  cool  and  collected,  he  was  really  quite  diffident,  which  con 
tributed  to  his  wish  to  avoid  occasions  where  formalities  and 
display  were  the  leading  features.  His  colloquial  powers  were 
great.  He  won  the  hearts  of  those  who  called  upon  him,  by  the 
peculiar  charm  of  his  conversation,  which  was  always  natural  and 
easy.  His  speeches  were  usually  prepared  with  considerable 
labor,  but  were  never  written  out  in  advance,  nor  were  forcible 
or  eloquent  expressions  studied.  It  was  common  for  him  to  write 
oh  note-paper  his  propositions,  with  sums  and  dates,  if  figures 
were  necessary,  each  proposition  being  on  a  separate  half-sheet, 
and  folded  and  arranged  in  the  order  in  which  they  were  to  be 
used.  The  object  of  this  seemed  to  be,  the  orderly  presentation 
of  his  thoughts,  and  to  render  his  positions  clear  and  distinct. 
Neatness  and  order  pervaded  every  thing  he  touched.  When 


180  DEMOCRACY   IN   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

writing,  bis  thoughts  were  so  arranged  and  his  words  so  chosen, 
that  he  often  wrote  a  long  report  without  there  appearing  an  in 
terlineation  or  erasure.  His  celebrated  agricultural  address,  pre 
pared  shortly  before  his  death,  was  sent  to  certain  friends  for  sug 
gestions,  if  thought  proper.  His  friend  A.  C.  Flagg  suggested 
the  change  of  one  word,  the  meaning  of  which  might  be  the  sub 
ject  of  question.  His  last  labor  with  a  pen  was  performed  the 
evening  before  his  death,  in  rewriting  the  page  containing  it,  ra 
ther  than  to  mar  it  by  erasure  and  interlineation.  This  habit  of 
perfect  order  pervaded  all  the  acts  of  his  whole  life. 

As  a  speaker,  he  was  distinguished,  not  by  brilliancy,  or 
flights  of  imagination,  or  winning  expressions,  but  for  clear,  for 
cible,  powerful,  and  logical  argument.  A  celebrated  foreign 
traveller  once  listened  to  a  debate  in  which  Preston,  Clay,  and 
other  distinguished  orators  took  part,  which  was  closed  by  Mr. 
Wright.  He  declared,  when  he  returned  to  his  quarters,  that  he 
was  charmed  with  the  eloquence  of  these  distinguished  speakers, 
but  when  they  had  finished  he  could  not  see  that  they  had  made 
much  progress  in  elucidating  the  subject  under  consideration.  But 
after  them  followed  an  unpretending  Senator,  a  Mr.  Wright,  of 
New  York,  who  took  up  the  subject  and  presented  it  so  clearly 
and  argued  his  propositions  with  so  much  judgment,  force,  and 
effect,  that  he  felt  as  if  he  was  master  of  the  whole  subject,  and 
should  never  forget  it.  He  said  he  was  irresistibly  carried  along, 
and  could  not  doubt  the  Senator's  conclusions — that  he  had  been 
in  all  the  leading  legislative  bodies  in  Europe,  and  had  heard  dis 
tinguished  men  speak,  but  had  never  heard  a  more  forcible,  or 
logical  argument. 

Mr.  Wright  had  one  faculty,  of  great  use  to  a  man  in  public 
life,  which  he  naturally,  if  not  unavoidably,  cultivated,  and  which 
proved  vastly  useful,  though  not  generally  recognized.  He  suc 
cessfully  read  the  thoughts  and  characters  of  men  with  whom 
he  came  in  contact,  and  seldom  made  a  mistake.  Had  his  sug 
gestions,  resulting  from  this  knowledge  thus  acquired,  prevailed, 
many  mistakes  in  appointments  would  have  been  avoided  by  Gen 
eral  Jackson  and  Mr.  Van  Buren.  This  scrutiny  into  character 
became  so  much  a  habit,  that  in  later  years  it  seemed  unavoida- 


SILAS    WEIGHT.  181 

blc.  When  a  stranger,  who  had  spent  half  an  hour  with  him,  left 
his  room,  he  often  told  the  writer  what  his  character  was,  and  by 
what  motives  be  was  actuated,  and  future  knowledge  nearly  al 
ways  confirmed  bis  opinions.  The  knowledge  thus  acquired 
gave  him  great  advantages  in  his  intercourse  with  men,  and  es 
sentially  prevented  misplaced  confidence. 

Our  space  will  not  permit  our  giving  even  an  outline  of  the 
political  life  of  Governor  "Wright.  The  writer  expects,  at  a  fu 
ture  day,  to  give  the  world  a  full  account  of  his  life  and  public 
services.  We  can  now  only  refer  to  his  official  life.  He  entered 
the  State  Senate  the  1st  of  January,  1824,  and  retired  on  the  4th 
of  March,  1827.  It  was  during  this  service  that  he  succeeded  in 
placing  the  New  York  canal  policy  on  the  debt-paying  principle, 
and  established  a  high  character  for  talents  and  integrity.  In 
1826  he  was  elected  to  Congress,  and  served  one  session  and  part 
of  another,  distinguishing  himself  by  advocating  the  placing  of 
the  wool  interest  on  as  favorable  a  basis  as  others  of  a  more  pre 
tentious  character.  On  the  27th  of  January,  1829,  he  was  elected 
Comptroller  of  New  York,  and,  resigning  his  seat  in  Congress, 
repaired  to  Albany,  and  entered  upon  his  new  duties,  which  he 
performed  until  early  in  January,  1833,  when  he  was  elected  to 
the  United  States  Senate,  to  supply  the  place  of  Mr.  Marcy,  who 
had  been  elected  Governor  of  New  York. 

He  took  his  seat  in  the  Senate  on  the  14th  of  January,  1833, 
and  served  until  December,  1844,  when,  having  been  elected 
Governor,  he  resigned.  In  the  office  of  Comptroller,  he  essential 
ly  contributed  to  carry  out  his  own  canal  policy,  under  which 
New  York  improved  in  her  finances,  and  was  working  out 
of  debt,  with  diminished  taxation.  In  the  Senate  of  the  United 
States  he  participated  in  all  the  great  measures  before  that  body, 
in  the  thrilling  times  of  Jackson,  Van  Bnren,  and  Tyler.  By  per 
severance,  he  finally  succeeded  with  his  Independent  Treasury  Bill, 
which  eventually  became  a  law.  As  Governor,  he  was  successful 
in  substantially  putting  down  and  quieting  anti-rentism.  He  was 
nominated  for  reelection  in  the  fall  of  1846,  but  was  defeated  by 
the  treachery  of  a  few  leading  Democrats,  some  of  whom  were 
representatives  of  Departments  at  Washington.  Instead  of  low7- 


182  DEMOCRACY    IN   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

ering  him  in  the  estimation  of  the  public,  this  defeat  elevated  him 
everywhere,  and,  had  he  lived,  he  would  have  been  the  candidate 
of  the  united  Democracy  for  the  presidency  in  1848,  and  would 
have  been  triumphantly  elected.  His  memory  is  now  cherished 
by  all  parties  throughout  the  country,  as  that  of  an  able,  upright, 
honest,  and  patriotic  man.  He  is  never  named  except  in  words 
of  sincere  and  high  regard. 

He  was  born  at  Amherst,  Mass.,  on  the  24th  of  March,  1795. 
When  about  one  year  old,  his  father  removed  to  Weybridge,  Vt., 
where  he  resided  until  his  death.  Silas  was  educated  there,  and 
at  Middlebury  College,  and  read  law  at  Sandy  Hill,  N".  Y.,  mostly 
with  Roger  Skinner,  afterward  United  States  District  Judge.  He 
taught  school  winters,  to  aid  in  his  own  support.  He  settled  in 
Canton  in  1819,  and  died  there  in  1847,  sincerely  mourned  by  all 
who  knew  him,  whether  residing  there,  or  in  distant  States. 
Governor  Wright  was  a  Democrat  of  unflinching  firmness,  who 
believed  that  the  perpetuity  and  prosperity  of  our  institutions  de 
pended  upon  the  ascendency  of  Democratic  principles. 

Governor  Wright  during  his  political  life  declined  numerous 
high  offices.  He  repeatedly  declined  the  use  of  his  name  for  the 
office  of  Governor,  and  only  accepted  the  nomination  in  1844  be 
cause  his  friends  demanded  the  use  of  it  to  render  the  election  of 
the  presidential  ticket  certain.  He  refused  cabinet  appointments 
under  Mr.  Van  Buren  and  Mr.  Polk,  and  a  seat  on  the  bench  of 
the  Supreme  Court  under  Mr.  Tyler.  In  1844  he  refused  the 
use  of  his  name  for  President,  and,  when  actually  nominated  for 
the  vice-presidency,  declined  it.  He  also  refused  foreign  mis 
sions.  Colonel  Benton,  in  his  great  work,  says : 

"He  spent  that  time  in  declining  office  which  others  did  in 
winning  it,  and,  of  those  he  did  accept,  it  might  well  be  said  they 
were  "  thrust "  upon  him.  Office,  not  greatness,  was  thrust  upon 
him.  He  was  born  great,  and  above  office,  and  unwillingly  de 
scended  to  it ;  he  only  took  it  for  its  burdens,  and  to  satisfy  an 
importunate  public  demand.  Mind,  manners,  temper,  habits, 
united  in  him  to  form  the  charaotcr  that  was  perfect,  both  in  pri 
vate  and  public  life,  and  to  give  the  example  of  a  patriot  citizen 
— of  a  farmer  statesman — of  which  we  read  in  Cincinnatus  and 


JACKSON'S  FAREWELL  ADDRESS.  183 

Cato,  and  seen  in  Macon,  and  some  others  of  their  stamp- — created 
by  Nature — formed  in  no -school;  and  of  which  the  instances  are 
so  rare  and  long  between." 

The  country  is  greatly  indebted  to  him  for  the  introduction 
of  the  telegraph.  Neither  the  inventor  nor  his  friends  had  the 
means  of  fully  testing  it.  After  thorough  examination,  he  arrived 
at  the  conclusion  that  it  would  prove  a  success.  lie  thereupon 
reported  the  Act  of  1843,  which  passed  the  Senate  upon  the 
strength  of  his  recommendation,  appropriating  $30,000  to  build  a 
lii'C  betwen  Baltimore  and  Washington,  which,  when  completed, 
ni2t  his  expectations,  and  caused  the  introduction  of  the  telegraph 
throughout  the  country. 

80.— JACKSON'S  FAREWELL   ADDRESS. 

On  the  3d  of  March,  1837,  General  Jackson  issued  a  Farewell 
Address  to  the  people  of  the  United  States.  It  was  on  the  last 
day  of  his  official  life.  His  first  service  for  his  country  was  in  the 
tented  field,  when  a  lad,  where  a  British  sword  had  caused  his 
blood  to  flow.  His  last  was  at  the  head  of  the  great  American 
Government.  On  various  occasions,  between  these  dates,  he  had 
successfully  served  his  country  under  difficult  and  trying  circum 
stances.  For  a  period  of  more  than  half  a  century  he  had  been  a 
careful  observer  of  events  connected  with  our  history.  His  at 
tachment  to  his  country  was  strong  and  unwavering ;  and  he  re 
garded  the  future  with  deep  solicitude.  He  had  observed  the 
l.appy  effect  of  "Washington's  Farewell  Address  upon  the  country 
generally,  and  especially  in  shaking  the  purposes  of  the  Federal 
ists  in  New  England,  when  its  leaders,  Pickering,  Hillhouse,  Gris- 
wold,  Tracy,  Hunt,  and  others,  in  1804-'5  proposed  and  organized 
a  plan  of  practical  disunion,  frustrated  probably  by  the  death  of 
Hamilton.  He  had  before  him  abundant  evidence  of  the  ardent 
attachment  and  unlimited  confidence  of  the  people.  Under  such 
circumstances,  it  was  a  very  appropriate  method  of  closing  his 
official  career,  and  performing  a  parting  service.  The  address 
produced  a  deep  sensation,  and  was  hailed  as  a  most  valuable 
legacy  from  a  loved  father  to  loving  children.  To  recall  it  to  tho 


184  DEMOCRACY    IN   THE    UNITED   STATES. 

recollection  of  our  readers,  we  shall  make  liberal  extracts  from  it. 
After  stating  the  true  principles  of  taxation,  he  says : 

"Plain  as  these  principles  appear  to  be,  you  will  yet  find  that 
there  is  a  constant  effort  to  induce  the  General  Government  to  go 
beyond  the  limits  of  its  taxing  power,  and  to  impose  unnecessary 
burdens  upon  the  people.  Many  powerful  interests  are  continually 
at  work  to  procure  heavy  duties  on  commerce,  and  to  swell  the 
revenue  beyond  the  real  necessities  of  the  public  service ;  and  the 
country  has  already  felt  the  injurious  effects  of  their  combined  in 
fluence.  They  succeeded  in  obtaining  a  tariff  of  duties  bearing 
most  oppressively  on  the  agricultural  and  laboring  classes  of 
society,  and  producing  revenue  that  could  not  be  usefully  employed 
within  the  range  of  the  powers  conferred  upon  Congress ;  and,  in 
order  to  fasten  upon  the  people  this  unjust  and  unequal  system  of 
taxation,  extravagant  schemes  of  internal  improvement  were  got 
up  in  various  quarters,  to  squander  the  money,  and  purchase  sup 
port.  Thus  one  unconstitutional  measure  was  intended  to  be 
upheld  by  another,  and  the  abuse  of  the  power  of  taxation  was  to 
be  maintained  by  usurping  the  power  of  expending  the  money  in 
internal  improvements." 

Referring  to  disunion  and  sectional  action,  he  said  : 
"•We  behold  systematic  efforts,  publicly  made,  to  sow  the 
seeds  of  discord  between  different  parts  of  the  United  States,  and 
to  place  party  divisions  directly  upon  geographic  distinctions ;  to 
excite  the  South  against  the  North,  and  the  North  against  the 
South,  and  to  force  into  the  controversy  the  most  delicate  and  ex 
citing  topics,  upon  which  it  is  impossible  that  a  large  portion  of 
the  Union  can  ever  speak  without  strong  emotions.  Appeals,  too, 
are  constantly  made  to  sectional  interests,  in  order  to  influence 
the  election  of  the  Chief  Magistrate,  as  if  it  were  desired  that  he 
should  favor  a  particular  quarter  of  the  country,  instead  of  ful 
filling  the  duties  of  his  station  with  impartial  justice  to  all ;  and 
the  possible  dissolution  of  the  Union  has,  at  length,  become  an 
ordinary  and  familiar  subject  of  discussion.  Has  the  warning 
voice  of  Washington  been  forgotten?  or  have  designs  already 
been  formed  to  sever  the  Union?  Let  it  not  be  supposed  that  I 
impute  to  all  those  who  have  taken  an  active  part  in  these  unwise 


185 

and  unprofitable  discussions  a  want  of  patriotism,  or  of  public 
virtue.  The  honorable  feelings  of  State  pride,  and  local  attach 
ments,  find  a  place  in  the  bosoms  of  the  most  enlightened  and 
pure.  But  while  such  men  are  conscious  of  their  own  integrity 
and  honesty  of  purpose,  they  ought  never  to  forget  that  the 
citizens  of  other  States  are  their  political  brethren  ;  and  that  how 
ever  mistaken  they  may  be  in  their  views,  the  great  body  of  them 
arc  equally  honest  and  upright  with  themselves.  Mutual  suspi 
cion  and  reproaches  may  in  time  create  mutual  hostility;  and  art- 
fu1  and  designing  men  will  always  be  found,  who  are  ready  to 
fotnent  these  fatal  divisions,  and  to  inflame  the  natural  jealousies 
ot  different  sections  of  the  country.  The  history  of  the  world  is 
fall  of  such  examples,  and  especially  the  history  of  republics. 

"  What  have  you  to  gain  by  division  and  dissension  ?  Delude 
not  yourselves  with  the  belief,  that  a  breach  once  made  may  be 
afterward  repaired.  If  the  Union  is  once  severed,  the  line  of 
separation  will  grow  wider  and  wider  ;  and  the  controversies 
which  are  now  debated  and  settled  in  the  halls  of  legislation, 
v>  ill  then  be  tried  in  the  fields  of  battle,  and  determined  by 
the  sword.  Neither  should  you  deceive  yourselves  with  the 
hope,  that  the  first  line  of  separation  would  be  the  permanent 
one,  and  that  nothing  but  harmony  and  concord  would  be  found 
ri  the  new  associations  formed  upon  the  dissolution  of  the  Union. 
Local  interests  would  still  be  found  there,  and  unchastened  ambi 
tion.  And  if  the  recollection  of  common  dangers,  in  which  the 
•people  of  the  United  States  stood,  side  by  side,  against  the  com 
mon  foe — the  memories  of  victories  won  by  their  united  valor ; 
the  prosperity  and  happiness  they  have  enjoyed  under  the  pres 
ent  Constitution ;  the  proud  name  they  bear  as  citizens  of  this 
^reat  Republic — if  all  these  recollections  and  proofs  of  common  in 
terest  are  not  strong  enough  to  bind  us  together,  as  one  people, 
what  tie  will  hold  united  the  new  divisions  of  empire,  when  these 
bonds  have  been  broken,  and  this  Union  dissevered  ?  The  first 
line  of  separation  would  not  last  for  a  single  generation ;  new 
fragments  would  be  torn  off;  new  leaders  would  spring  up  ;  and 
this  great  and  glorious  Republic  would  soon  be  broken  into  a 
multitude  of  petty  States,  without  commerce,  without  credit ; 


186  DEMOCEACY   IN   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

jealous  of  one  another;  armed  for  mutual  aggressions;  loaded 
with  taxes  to  pay  armies  and  leaders ;  seeking  aid  against  each 
other  from  foreign  powers ;  insulted  and  trampled  upon  by  the 
nations  of  Europe ;  until,  harassed  with  conflicts,  and  humbled 
and  debased  in  spirit,  they  would  be  ready  to  submit  to  the  ab 
solute  dominion  of  any  military  adventurer,  and  to  surrender  their 
liberty  for  the  sake  of  repose.  It  is  impossible  to  look  upon  the 
consequences  that  would  inevitably  follow  the  destruction  of  this 
Government,  and  not  feel  indignant  when  we  hear  cold  calcula 
tions  about  the  value  of  the  Union,  and  have  so  constantly  before 
us  a  line  of  conduct  so  well  calculated  to  weaken  its  ties." 

He  thus  closes  his  advice  : 

"  You  have  no  longer  any  cause  to  fear  danger  from  abroad  ; 
your  strength  and  power  are  well  known  throughout  the  civilized 
world,  as  well  as  the  high  and  gallant  bearing  of  your  sons.  It  is 
from  within,  among  yourselves,  from  cupidity,  from  corruption, 
from  disappointed  ambition,  and  inordinate  thirst  for  power,  that 
factions  will  be  formed  and  liberty  endangered.  It  is  against 
such  designs,  whatever  guise  the  actors  may  assume,  that  you 
have  specially  to  guard  yourselves.  You  have  the  highest  of 
human  trusts  committed  to  your  care.  Providence  has  showered 
on  this  favored  land  blessings  without  number,  and  has  chosen 
you  as  the  guardians  of  freedom  to  preserve  it  for  the  benefit  of 
the  human  race.  May  He  who  holds  in  His  hands  the  destinies 
of  nations  make  you  worthy  of  the  favors  He  has  bestowed,  and 
enable  you,  with  pure  hearts,  and  pure  hands,  and  sleepless  vigi 
lance,  to  guard  and  defend,  to  the  end  of  time,  the  charge  He  has 
committed  to  your  keeping ! " 

A  noble  legacy.  Its  timely  cautions  were  directed  to  the  real 
sources  of  danger.  The  motives  and  causes  of  disunion  are  clearly 
arid  plainly  stated.  Had  they  been  heeded,  North  and  South, 
the  sectional  curses  that  have  befallen  us,  withered  our  resources, 
and  destroyed  the  Union  and  the  happiness  of  the  people,  would 
never  have  overtaken  us.  The  cupidity,  corruption,  disappointed 
ambition,  and  inordinate  thirst  for  power,  are  pointed  out  as  the 
sources  from  which  sectional  difficulties  and  disunion  must  em 
anate. 


187 

From  whom  have  our  sectional  and  disunion  difficulties 
come  ?  The  answer  is  explicit — from  the  enemies  of  General 
Jsckson,  and  those  who  derided  and  spurned  his  advice.  The 
leaders  of  abolition  and  nullification  carried  on  a  mock  war,  to 
alienate  the  kind  feelings  and  arouse  all  the  bad  passions  of  both 
sections.  Abolition  would  blister  its  mouth  in  uttering  scorch 
ing  and  bitter  words,  which  the  newspapers  sent  South  to  stir  up 
the  people.  These  being  read  and  commented  upon,  words  of 
burning  fire  and  fury  were  uttered  and  sent  North  in  the  papers. 
Each  section  supplied  the  fuel  and  kept  the  fire  burning  in  the 
other.  The  leaders  understood  it,  but  the  masses  did  not,  and 
became  terribly  in  earnest.  The  defeat  of  a  Southern  Union 
man  for  Congress  was  hailed  with  joy  by  the  Northern  conspira 
tors,  and  the  success  of  an  abolitionist  at  the  North  was  chuckled 
ever  by  Southern  secessionists  as  a  triumph.  Each  wished  to 
v/iden  the  breach  and  render  healing  it  impossible.  Both  had  dis 
union  in  view.  The  Southern  States,  tired  of  Northern  annoy 
ances,  wished  to  go  by  themselves  and  enjoy  in  peace  their  own 
institutions  and  laws.  The  abolitionists  wished  to  get  rid  of 
them,  and  have  a  government  where  slavery  should  not  be  toler 
ated.  If  these  two  sections  had  had  their  own  way,  the  South 
would  have  been  permitted  "to  go  in  peace,"  as  advised  by  Chief- 
Justice  Chase,  Horace  Greeley,  Banks,  Wade,  and  others.  But 
there  was  another  and  numerous  class  of  men  who  could  not  be 
converted  to  these  doctrines.  They  consisted  of  the  followers  of 
General  Jackson,  North  and  South,  and  Union-loving  Whigs 
everywhere.  The  Southern  secessionists  openly  proclaimed  their 
wishes  and  intentions.  But  the  Union  Democrats  and  Union 
Whigs  were  so  numerous  and  decided,  that  nearly  all  the  Abolition 
party  shrank  from  avowing  what  they  desired,  and  those  who  had 
spoken  out  recalled  their  words  and  clamored  the  loudest  for  the 
Union,  and  for  punishing  those  who  rebelled.  The  secessionists 
were  surprised  and  astonished,  and  met  a  united  resistance  of  all  par- 
tics  from  the  North  that  they  had  not  anticipated  or  feared.  The 
most  sturdy  of  the  real  abolitionists  were  more  easily  found  in  the 
ring  of  thrift  or  talking  positions,  than  where  powder  and  ball 
showed  the  real  havoc  of  war.  They  made  up  in  noise  what  they 


188  DEMOCRACY    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

lacked  in  actual  fighting,  and  now  put  forth  claims  similar  to  those 
of  the  redoubtable  Falstaff.  The  real  fighting  was  mainly  done  by 
Democrats  and  old-line  conservative  Whigs,  who  were  favored 
with  more  opportunities  to  display  their  courage  than  to  receive 
compliments  and  favors  at  the  hands  of  the  Government.  The 
enormous  sacrifice  of  men  and  means  in  this  war  came  from  not 
following  the  salutary  advice  of  General  Jackson's  Farewell  Ad 
dress. 

81.— MARTIN  VAN  BUREN. 

Mr.  Yan  Buren  acquired  his  eminence  by  the  force  of  his 
mind  and  unsurpassed,  energy.  His  parentage  was  respectable, 
but  not  such  as  to  give  him  special  advantages  in  the  start  or  prog 
ress  of  his  elevated  career.  His  early  education  was  moderate, 
but  whatever  knowledge  he  acquired,  whether  in  school  or  the 
law-office,  was  clearly,  and  distinctly,  and  permanently  impressed 
upon  the  mind.  He  was  never  satisfied  in  half  learning  or  under 
standing  any  thing,  but  made  sure  that  whatever  he  undertook  he 
perfectly  mastered.  In  studying  legal  principles,  he  was  not  con 
tent  in  merely  remembering  what  he  found  written  in  the  books, 
but  his  investigations  never  ended  until  he  learned  the  reason  of 
the  rule  laid  down.  In  practising  his  profession  as  a  lawyer,  he 
relied  far  more  upon  the  reasons  in  favor  of  his  own  positions 
than  upon  the  authority  of  great  names  and  accepted  writers. 
This  gave  him  superior  advantages,  which  contributed  largely  to 
his  success.  In  giving  advice  and  in  preparing  cases,  like  Felix 
Grundy,  he  settled  in  his  own  mind  what  he  thought,  upon  prin 
ciple,  was  clearly  right,  and  acted  accordingly,  and  was  seldom 
wrong. 

He  was  born  at  Kinderhook,  Columbia  County,  N.  Y.,  De 
cember  5,  1782,  and  was  admitted  as  an  attorney  in  1802,  and 
commenced  practice  in  his  native  town,  but  soon  removed  to 
Hudson,  where  the  field  of  professional  labor  was  larger.  AVhilo 
a  student  he  took  an  active  part  in  the  political  contests  in  the 
county,  and,  espousing  the  Democratic  party,  he  came  in  conflict 
with  the  leading  Federalists  of  the  day.  The  efforts  of  these 
politicians  to  crush  him,  contrary  to  their  expectations,  contributed 


MARTIN   VAN   BUKEN.  189 

essentially  to  his  success  and  elevation  in  the  world.  It  tended 
to  increase  his  energies  and  sharpen  his  faculties,  and  he  soon 
rose  to  be  the  equal  of  those  who  hoped  he  would  fail.  His  con 
stitution  was  strong,  his  health  good,  and  his  mental  faculties 
nc^er  tired,  and  his  industry  never  flagged.  His  character,  in 
every  respect,  was  above  reproach,  while  his  manners  and  appear 
ance  were  highly  in  his  favor.  Neither  envy,  hatred,  nor  malice, 
could  stay  the  progress  of  such  a  man.  He  steadily  rose,  step  by 
step,  until  he  reached  the  highest  position  in  our  Government. 

Always  honest  in  his  intentions,  and  firm  and  unwavering  in 
his;  purposes,  and  persevering  in  whatever  he  undertook,  he  soon 
became  a  favorite  with  the  Democracy  of  his  county,  and  eventu 
ally  of  the  State  and  nation.  The  Democrats  in  1808  first  mani 
fested  their  respect  and  confidence  by  conferring  upon  him  the 
responsible  office  of  Surrogate  of  Columbia  County,  which  he  held 
many  years.  He  was  next,  in  the  spring  of  1812,  elected  State 
Senator  for  four  years,  at  the  end  of  which  term  he  was  reflected. 
His  rise  was  now  rapid.  When  General  Hull  was  tried  for  his 
cowardly  if  not  treasonable  conduct  in  the  surrender  of  Detroit, 
ho  was  selected  as  judge-advocate,  and  performed  the  duties  in  a 
iranner  which  elevated  his  character  as  a  lawyer.  During  the 
AVar  of  1812  he  was  Governor  Tompldns's  right-hand  man  in  the 
Legislature.  When  the  question  of  constructing  the  Erie  and 
Champlain  Canals  was  before  the  Legislature,  contrary  to  the 
wishes  of  some  of  his  friends,  he  espoused  these  measures  and 
lent  them  invaluable  support.  He  was  appointed  Attorney-Gen 
eral  of  the  State  of  New  York  in  1815,  and  continued  to  hold  the 
office  until  removed  by  his  political  opponents  in  1819.  Athough 
residing  in  Albany,  he  was  elected  a  delegate  to  the  convention 
of  1821,  to  revise  the  State  constitution,  by  the  Democracy  of 
Otscgo  County. 

During  the  same  year  he  was  elected  to  the  Senate  of  the 
United  States,  and  took  his  seat  in  December.  In  that  body  he 
immediately  rose  to  a  high  position.  He  was  reflected  in  1827, 
but  resigned  on  the  1st  of  January,  1829,  on  being  elected  Gov 
ernor  of  New  York,  which  office  he  resigned  in  March,  having 
been  appointed  Secretary  of  State  by  General  Jackson.  This 


190  DEMOCRACY   IN   THE    UNITED   STATES. 

office  lie  resigned  on  the  7th  of  April,  1831,  because-  circum 
stances  beyond  his  control  had  placed  him  before  the  country  as 
a  candidate  for  the  presidency,  a  position  which  he  thought  in 
compatible  with  a  proper  discharge  of  his  duties  as  the  head  of 
a  department.  The  duties  of  the  office  of  Secretary  of  State  were 
never  more  ably  and  efficiently  performed  than  by  Mr.  Van  Buren. 
Soon  after  his  resignation  as  Secretary,  General  Jackson,  in  vaca 
tion,  appointed  him  minister  to  Great  Britain.  The  enemies  of 
the  Democracy  were  at  that  time  in  a  majority  in  the  Senate,  and 
his  nomination  as  minister  was  rejected,  26th  January,  1832,  by  the 
casting  vote  of  John  C.  Calhoun,  then  Vice-President,  and  president 
of  the  Senate.  It  is  believed  that  there  was  a  well-understood  ar 
rangement  among  his  opponents  to  place  the  responsibility  of  his 
rejection  on  the  shoulders  of  Mr.  Calhoun,  of  which  he  had  no 
knowledge.  When  the  news  of  his  rejection  reached  London,  he 
was  met  by  a  distinguished  member  of  the  British  Government, 
who,  instead  of  looking  upon  him  as  a  dishonored  and  fallen 
statesman,  remarked  that  he  had  never  known  a  person  to  reach 
the  highest  political  positions  without  at  some  time  having  been 
temporarily  the  victim  of  the  injustice  of  his  enemies. 

On  returning  home,  Mr.  Van  Buren  was  most  cordially  re 
ceived  by  his  political  friends.  The  greetings  of  General  Jackson 
were  cordial  and  sincere.  The  whole  country  felt  that  gross 
injustice  had  been  done  to  Mr.  Van  Buren  by  his  rejection.  No 
man  then  living  was  more  fit  for  the  English  mission.  The 
authors  of  the  rejection  believed  that  their  vote  would  deprive 
him  of  public  confidence,  and  defeat  any  future  aspirations  he 
mio;ht  have.  In  the  minds  of  the  people  the  question  was,  not 
what  the  Senate  thought  of  him,  but  whether  he  had  been  unjust 
ly  dealt  by.  The  electors  condemned  the  act  by  their  votes. 

General  Jackson  had  consented,  contrary  to  his  own  wishes, 
and  former  expressed  opinions,  if  nominated  again,  to  run  for  the 
presidency.  A  nominating  convention  from  all  the  States  met  at 
Baltimore,  on  the  22d  of  May,  1832,  when  he  was  unanimously 
renominated  for  the  presidency.  Mr.  Van  Buren  was  selected 
for  Vice-President.  The  election  resulted  in  a  great  Democratic 
triumph,  Mr.  Van  Buren  receiving  the  same  vote  as  General 


MARTIN   VAN   BTJEEN.  191 

Jackson,  except  in  Pennsylvania.  On  the  4th.  of  March,  1833, 
both  were  sworn  into  office,  Mr.  Van  Buren  becoming  presiding 
officer  over  the  Senate  which  the  year  before  had  rejected  his 
nomination  as  minister  to  England — a  triumph,  although  it  did 
not  seem  to  affect  him,  which  was  keenly  felt  by  those  engaged 
in  the  movement  to  crush  him.  He  was  a  most  dignified  and 
impartial  presiding  officer,  and  commanded  the  respect  of  all  who 
preserved  their  own  self-respect,  and**  a  proper  regard  for  the 
Senate. 

The  people  were  not  satisfied  with  the  rebuke  they  had  ad 
ministered  for  the  wrong  done  Mr.  Yan  Buren.  In  1836  he  was 
nominated  for  the  office  of  President,  and  was  elected.  The 
nv.llifiers  at  the  South,  and  the  abolitionists  at  the  North,  made 
common  cause  with  'the  Whigs  against  him,  although  professing 
conflicting  political  opinions.  Richard  M.  Johnson,  of  Kentucky, 
who  ran  with  Mr.  Van  Buren  for  Vice-President,  lacking  one  vote 
of  a  majority,  was  elected  Vice-President  by  the  Senate.  Both 
were  sworn  in  on  the  4th  of  March,  1837. 

On  assuming  the  duties  of  the  office  of  President,  Mr.  Van 
Buren  exhibited  qualities  fitting  him  for  the  high  position  that 
few  supposed  he  possessed.  He  was  prompt  in  the  discharge  of 
a  1  his  duties,  and  soon  satisfied  every  one  about  him  that  he  was 
President  in  fact  as  well  as  in  name.  He  made  calls  upon  his 
Cabinet  for  information,  and  assigned  its  members  duties  to  per 
form,  so  that  B.  F.  Butler  said  it  reminded  him  of  former  days 
i  i  Mr.  Van  Buren's  law-office  in  Albany.  Every  duty  devolving 
upon  him  as  President  was  performed  promptly,  and  all  necessary 
responsibility  was  cheerfully  borne.  On  the  other  hand,  he  held 
all  about  him  responsible  for  what  the  law,  or  duty,  devolved 
upon  them.  He  never  interfered  with  the  rights  and  privileges 
of  the  members  of  his  Cabinet,  or  any  one  else.  When  asked  for 
a  clerkship  in  one  of  the  departments,  his  reply  was,  that  he  had 
not  the  power  to  appoint  one,  and  both  his  inclination  and  duty 
forbade  his  interfering  with  matters  that  did  not  belong  to  him. 

As  a  business  man  Mr.  Van  Buren  had  no  superior.  He 
transacted  business  without  any  apparent  effort  or  labor,  and  it 
never  accumulated  on  his  hands.  When  office  hours  were  over, 


192  DEMOCRACY   IN   THE   HOTTED    STATES. 

he  usually  found  time  for  a  horseback-ride  before  dinner.  The 
dignity,  proprieties,  and  hospitalities  of  the  Executive  mansion 
were  sustained  on  all  occasions  with  the  greatest  propriety.  He 
was  attentive  to  those  friends  who  were  sick,  looking  after  their 
wants,  and  giving  them  rides  in  the  country  when  able  to  bear 
them.  Contrary  to  the  custom  of  some  Presidents,  he  visited  the 
families  of  the  members  of  his  Cabinet.  In  his  every-day  living  he  pre 
served  his  early  taste  and  relish  for  the  Dutch  dishes  which  his  moth 
er  had  made  for  her  family,  and  they  were  very  often  on  his  table. 

In  another  place  we  have  given  most  of  the  leading  events  of 
his  administration,  and  cannot  repeat  them.  He  failed  in  his  re 
election,  not  because  he  was  in  any  respect  in  the  wrong,  but 
owing  to  a  combination  of  circumstances  which  prevented  a  right 
appreciation  of  what  he  had  done.  His  reply  to  the  address  of 
his  friends  inviting  him  to  a  public  dinner  on  his  return  to  the 
city  of  New  York  will  ever  remain  a  proud  monument  of  his  dig 
nity  and  superiority  as  a  man,  and  of  his  unbounded  confidence 
in  the  people,  and  especially  in  their  sober  second  thought. 

In  the  Baltimore  Convention  of  1844  Mr.  Van  Buren  received 
a  majority  of  the  votes,  but,  owing  to  the  adoption  of  the  two- 
thirds  rule,-  failed  of  a  nomination. 

In  1848  he  consented  to  be  governed  by  the  judgment  and 
wishes  of  certain  of  his  friends,  and,  yielding  his  own  inclinations, 
reluctantly  consented  to  run  for  President  when  there  was  no 
hope  of  an  election.  This  error  of  his  friends  was  visited  upon 
him,  and  defeated  all  future  chances  of  success.  But  it  had  no 
effect  upon  his  political  principles,  which  remained  uniformly 
and  firmly  Democratic  to  the  end  of  his  life.  On  retiring  from 
the  presidency,  Mr.  Van  Buren  returned  to  his  native  town, 
and  became  a  cultivator  of  the  soil  until  his  death,  July  24,  1802. 
His  last  years  were  spent  most  pleasantly  among  those  ancient 
Dutctt  families  in  Columbia  County,  who,  like  him,  continued  to 
speak  their  native  tongue  on  all  convenient  occasions.  Mr.  Van 
Buren  was  an  eloquent  as  well  as  a  forcible  speaker.  In  an  ad 
dress  to  the  jury,  at  Hudson,  in  a  seduction  case,  he  is  said  to 
have  drawn  tears  from  every  eye  in  the  court-house.  His  conver 
sation  had  a  peculiar  fascination  and  charm  about  it,  which  was 


MARTIN   VAN   BTJEEN.  193 

more  easily  felt  than  described.  His  attachment -to  his  friends 
wus  strong  and  lasting.  Like  Jefferson,  he  never  spoke  evil  of 
ar;y  one,  and  disliked  to  hear  others  do  it.  He  believed  in  demo 
cratic  principles,  and  could  not  help  it,  and  he  supposed  those 
wlio  took  opposite  ground  did  so  because  they  could  not  believe 
otherwise.  He  therefore  never  allowed  differences  of  opinion  on 
political  subjects  to  disturb  personal  and  neighborhood  friend 
ships.  At  a  public  reception  at  Ogdensburg  in  1840,  the  writer, 
as  a  chairman  of  a  committee  of  citizens,  said  to  him,  among  other 
things:  "It  affords  us  pleasure  to  reflect  that  your  whole  life  has 
boon  distinguished  by  an  entire  absence  of  those  bitter  and  exas 
perated  feelings  which  so  often  characterize  the  acts  of  those  en 
gaged  in  political  controversies.  Personal  animosities  materially 
disqualify  the  mind  for  judging  accurately — they  destroy  those 
fraternal  and  national  feelings  which  are  so  essential  in  judging 
accurately,  and,  without  which,  our  efforts  to  harmonize  are  doubt 
ful,  and  disputed  questions  in  our  public  affairs  will  prove  entirely 
unavailing." 

To  these  remarks  he  replied :  "  It  can  scarcely  be  necessary  to 
say  how  cordially  I  approve  the  opinion  you  have  expressed,  in 
regard  to  the  spirit  in  which  political  controversies  should  be  con 
ducted  everywhere,  and  particularly  under  institutions  like  ours  ; 
and  I  allow  myself  to  hope  that  the  sentiment  which  does  you, 
and  those  you  represent,  so  much  credit,  will  soon  become  that  of 
the  whole  country."  s 

Mr.  Van  Buren  lived  up  to  these  professions,  and  it  would  be 
fortunate  for  our  people  if  they  would  follow  his  example.  Every 
man  who  has  political  or  religious  principles,  should  be  firm  and 
consistent  in  their  support,  but  this  should  not  make  him  the  per 
sonal  enemy  of  those  who  entertain  different  sentiments.  Men  who 
honestly  entertain  opinions  on  such  subjects  cannot  avoid  doing 
so.  It  is  as  impossible  for  all  men  to  think  alike  as  it  is  to  look 
alike.  Faults  show  themselves  when  men  will  not  strive  to  under 
stand,  and  will  not  think,  but  will  blindly  follow  without  doing 
cither.  This  may  occasion  want  of  respect,  but  is  no  cause  for 
hatred  and  persecution,  and  those  politicians  who  preach  and 
practise  the  contrary  doctrines  are  unworthy  of  being  followed, 
9 


194  DEMOCRACY   IN   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

either  as  the  leadears  of  a  political  party,  or  as  teachers  of  the 
charitable  doctrines  of  the  Christian  religion. 

O 

In  person,  Mr.  Van  Bnren  was  of  medium  size,  bat  became 
large  in  his  old  age.  He  was  always  neat  and  conformed  in  dress 
to  the  usages  of  the  times.  He  was  no  speculator  or  miser,  but 
relied  upon  his  industry  for  the  comforts  and  conveniences  of  life. 
He  was  not  poor.  A  counsel-fee  in  wild  land,  which  he  desired  to 
avoid  taking,  at  a  future  day  made  his  circumstances  easy,  owing 
to  public  improvements  in  the  State.  On  all  occasions  he  used 
his  earnings  freely  to  sustain  the  dignity  of  the  position  he  occu 
pied.  At  the  time  of  his  death  he  was  engaged  in  preparing 
memoirs  of  his  own  times,  which  he  did  not  complete.  An  epi 
sode  on  political  parties,  which  wanted  the  finish  of  his  pen,  has 
been  published,  and  is  highly  interesting.  His  papers  are  in  the 
hands  of  Charles  H.  Hunt,  of  New  York,  to  be  arranged  and  pre 
pared  for  publication.  Mr.  Van  Buren  was  charged  by  his  adver 
saries  with  being  a  non-committal  and  managing  man,  but  this 
charge  had  no  foundation  in  fact.  However  wary  he  may  have 
been  in  his  intercourse  with  his  opponents  when  not  called  upon 
to  act,  when  business  demanded  an  avowal,  or  duty  required  it,  no 
man  was  ever  more  frank,  open,  and  decided.  The  record  of  his 
life  proves  this  to  be  true.  His  assumed  management  was  simply 
this — he  was  a  follower  instead  of  a  teacher  of  the  people,  and 
excelled  his  contemporaries  in  ascertaining  the  wishes  and  will  of 
the  people  on  new  questions  as  they  were  arising,  and  shaped  his 
movements  accordingly.  No  man  ever  discovered  more  readily 
the  channel  in  which  the  Democratic  sentiment  would  flow.  His 
pride  was  to  go  with  the  masses  of  the  Democracy.  It  was  never 
his  policy  to  rule  his  party,  but  to  go  with  it.  He  was  sometimes 
in  advance  of  the  public  mind  in  his  actions,  as  in  his  efforts  in 
favor  of  the  canals,  the  abolition  of  imprisonment  for  debt,  the  re 
peal  of  the  restraining  laws  which  gave  chartered  banks  a  monop 
oly  of  the  banking  business,  and  in  the  establishment  of  an  In 
dependent  Treasury.  But  the  moment  the  disturbing  causes  which 
unsettled  and  misled  the  public  mind  were  removed,  the  masses 
were  found  united  and  acting  in  concert,  and  sustaining  him.  Point 
ing  out  the  acknowledged  true  path  before  the  majority  are  pre- 


THE   SUB-TEEASURY.  195 

pared  to  walk  in  it,  cannot  "be  deemed  management.  It  is  simply 
er.rly  and  superior  foresight,  in  which  none  of  his  day  excelled 
him. 

82.— THE  SUB-TREASURY. 

It  is  not  strange  that  a  Government  springing  into  existence  in 
the  midst  of  a  Revolution,  and  utterly  without  means,  should  do 
no  more  than  appoint  a  Treasurer.  Michael  Hillegas  was  quite 
equal  to  the  task  during  the  Revolution  and  for  many  years  after 
ward,  of  receiving,  keeping,  and  paying  out  all  our  revenues. 
"\Yhen  the  first  bank  was  chartered  by  Congress,  in  1*791,  it  claimed 
and  enjoyed  the  profits  derived  from  keeping  any  surplus,  and  its 
successor,  chartered  in  1816,  did  the  same  thing,  with  more  ample 
powers.  During  the  period  between  1811,  when  the  first  bank 
charter  expired,  and  1816,  when  the  second  was  established,  we 
had  neither  surplus  nor  means  for  anybody  to  keep.  Keeping  our 
money  in  banks  had  grown  like  a  parasitic  plant,  and  seemed  to 
form  a  necessary  part  of  the  system  of  collecting,  keeping,  and 
disbursing  the  public  money.  There  was  no  absolute  pressure 
upon  the  point  of  separating  the  banks  from  the  Treasury,  although 
highly  objectionable,  until  the  charter  of  the  Bank  of  the  United 
States  was  about  to  expire.  State  banks  were  tried,  and,  after 
withstanding  the  hostility  of  the  old  bank  and  opposition  of  a  po 
litical  party,  failed  and  sunk  under  their  own  folly.  Nothing  was 
then  left  but  for  the  Government  to  cut  loose  from  all  banks,  and 
10  authorize  a  sufficient  number  of  assistant  treasurers,  located 
"where  the  collection  of  the  revenue  should  require  it,  which  was 
recommended  by  Mr.  Van  Buren  at  the  called  session  of  1837.  The 
subject,  in  the  Senate,  went  to  the  finance  committee,  of  which 
Silas  Wright  was  chairman,  who  reported  a  bill  to  carry  the  rec 
ommendation  into  effect.  Although  an  Independent  Treasury  had 
been  suggested  in  private  circles,  and  among  others  by  the  writer, 
as  early  as  1834,  as  a  measure  preferable  to  the  State  bank  de 
posit  system,  which  was  legalized  in  1836,  which  he  opposed,  still 
Mr.  "Wright's  bill  was  the  first  practical  step  toward  separating  the 
public  moneys  from  those  of  the  banks,  and  keeping  them  in  a 
Treasury  belonging  to  and  controlled  by  the  Government.  Out  of 


196  DEMOCEACY   IN   THE   HOTTED    STATES. 

a  floating  thought,  Mr.  Wright  gave  form  to  a  grand  system,  one 
worthy  of  a  great  and  free  Government,  and  which  harmonizes 
with  the  spirit  of  our  institutions. 

This  bill,  as  amended,  prohibited  the  receipt  of  any  currency 
but  gold  and  silver  by  the  Treasury,  and  was  violently  opposed  by 
Mr.  Wright's  colleague  and  Senator  Rives  (both  claiming  to  be 
Democrats),  and  every  Whig  Senator.  It  passed  by  a  vote  of  26 
to  20,  but  was  laid  on  the  table  in  the  House  by  a  Whig  majority. 
At  the  December  session  Mr.  Wright  again  presented  his  bill,  which 
passed  the  Senate  and  was  again  laid  on  the  table  in  the  House. 
The  specie  clause  was  struck  out  before  the  bill  passed  the  Senate. 
At  the  December  session  of  1838-'39,  Mr.  Wright  again  presented 
his  bill,  which  passed  the  Senate,  but  was  again  laid  on  the  table 
in  the  House.  The  next  Congress,  containing  a  majority  of  Demo 
cratic  members,  met  in  December,  1839.  Mr.  Wright  again  in 
troduced  his  bill ;  it  passed  both  Houses,  and  received  Mr.  Van 
Buren's  approval  on  the  ^ih  of  July,  1840. 

Here  was  a  triumph  of  principle,  after  a  persevering  effort  of 
almost  three  years,  upon  the  question  whether  the  Government 
should  keep  its  own  moneys,  or  commit  them  to  the  custody  of 
irresponsible  and  exploding  banks.  The  Whigs,  true  to  anti- 
Democratic  principles  throughout,  sustained  the  pretension  of 
the  banks  that  they  ought  to  have  the  custody  of  the  people's 
money,  that  they  might  speculate  on  it,  as  well  as  make  it  an  ac 
tive  and  efficient  agent  in  defeating  the  Democracy  at  elections. 

The  elections  of  1840  brought  into  power  on  the  4th  of  March, 
1841,  a  Whig  President  and  Congress.  A  session  of  Congress 
was  soon  called,  to  meet  on  the  31st  of  May,  whose  seventh  Act 
repealed  the  Independent  Treasury  and  the  State  Bank  Deposit 
Law,  leaving  the  administration  to  take  care  of  the  public  money 
in  its  own  way.  At  this  distant  day  it  seems  strange  that  any 
political  party  could  be  so  infatuated  as  to  deprive  the  Government 
of  a  Treasury,  having  the  necessary  working  machinery  to  make 
it  convenient,  safe,  and  practically  useful.  The  State  bank  system 
could  not  be  practically  used,  because  the  banks  did  not  conform 
to  the  requirements  of  the  law.  They  could  not  be  trusted. 
The  object  of  the  Whigs  in  repealing  the  Independent  Treasury 


THE    SUB-TKEASURY.  197 

Law  was  apparent.  It  was  to  compel  Congress  to  pass  a  United 
States  Bank  Bill.  Such  a  bill  passed  both  Houses  of  Congress, 
but  unexpectedly  encountered  President  Tyler's  veto,  which  they 
could  not  overcome  by  a  two-thirds  vote,  and  the  measure  was 
filially  defeated. 

In  1844  James  K.  Polk  was  elected  President,  and  Silas 
Wright  became  Governor  of  New  York.  Congress  met  in  De- 
comber  of  that  year,  and  on  the  6th  of  August,  1846,  reenacted  the 
Independent  Treasury  Act,  which  remained  in  force  about  twenty 
years,  the  Government  not  having  lost  a  dollar  by  it.  But  at  the 
commencement  of  the  late  war,  on  the  recommendation  of  Secre 
tary  Chase,  he  was  authorized  to  deposit  public  moneys  with  spe 
cie-paying  State  banks,  and,  on  his  further  recommendation,  the 
Secretary  was  permitted  to  use  all  the  eighteen  hundred  new  na 
tional  banks  as  depositories  of  the  public  money.  This  provision 
was  inserted  to  give  each  of  them  the  same  semblance  of  being  fiscal 
agents  of  the  Treasury  that  the  old  United  States  Bank  had.  That 
bank  was  sustained  by  the  Supreme  Court  solely  upon  the  ground 
that  Congress  had  made  it  a  fiscal  agent,  having  the  right  to  pro 
vide  such  agencies  as  it  chose.  In  order  to  give  these  new  na 
tional  banks  the  semblance  of  ground  to  stand  upon,  Secretary 
Chase  had  to  provide  eighteen  hundred  such  agents,  and,  as  the 
number  of  banks  increase,  these  agencies  will  increase.  Mr.  Chase 
and  his  political  friends  are  responsible  for  thus  adding  this  im 
mense  number  of  unnecessary  agents,  out  of  whom  the  Govern 
ment  cannot  collect  a  dollar  of  constitutional  money,  but  whose 
irredeemable  notes  they  have  bound  the  Government  by  statute 
to  receive  at  par — they  being  made  a  legal  tender  to  the  Govern 
ment,  except  at  the  custom-houses  for  duties. 

Why  was  the  Independent  Treasury  thus  impaired  ?  To  get  a 
supposed  constitutional  ground  to  stand  upon.  But  why  did  Mr. 
Chase  and  his  friends  desire  the  creation  of  a  multitude  of  banks, 
not  as  safe  and  sound  as  the  State  banks  when  they  were  author 
ized?  Because  they  desired  to  organize  and  concentrate  the 
money-power  of  the  country  to  secure  concerted  and  efficient  ac 
tion  of  those  managing  and  controlling  it  in  aid  of  the  Kepublican 
party  at  the  elections.  To  avoid  the  possibility  of  a  counteracting 


198  DEMOCRACY   IN   THE   UNITED    STATES. 

power,  the  State  banks  were  taxed  out  of  existence,  and,  with 
trifling  exceptions  of  those  not  issuing  bills,  none  of  them  remain. 
These  new  national  banks  are  Secretary  Chase's  children.  Do 
not  fathers  always  expect  support  from  their  "children  in  their 
great  enterprises  ?  But  we  have  high  authority  for  saying  that 
the  love  of  money  is  the  root  of  all  evil.  May  he  not  find  his 
children  loving  money  better  than  their  now  powerless  father? 
Experience  has  proved  the  great  error  of  impairing  the  Independent 
Treasury  Law.  Before  this  was  done,  that  law  made  it  a  crime 
to  loan,  use,  or  appropriate  money  in  the  Treasury,  or  to  deposit 
it  in  banks.  But  since  this  unwise  change,  Secretaries  have  made 
pets  of  some  of  these  children,  and  millions,  when  the  Govern 
ment  was  borrowing  money,  were  deposited  in  favored  banks,  and 
used  without  paying  interest.  When  not  needed  for  discounting 
notes,  these  deposits  have  been  lent  direct  to  the  Government  as 
temporary  loans  at  five  per  cent.,  or  invested  in  compound-interest 
notes,  or  seven-thirty  notes,  or  six  per  cent,  stocks,  and  thus  held 
until  called  for.  Hence  it  is  seen  that  the  Government  itself  paid 
interest  on  moneys  it  had  gratuitously  deposited  with  banks. 
When  this  has  not  been  done,  such  moneys  have  been  loaned  out 
to  customers  of  the  bank.  It  thus  appears  that  this  change  of  the 
Independent  Treasury  Law  has  opened  the  door  to  abuses.  There 
has  been  as  much  as  thirty  millions  of  public  moneys  thus  on  de 
posit  at  one  time,  if  the  financial  articles  in  city  papers  can  be 
relied  upon,  when  good  management  would  not  have  allowed  the 
deposit  of  one  dollar  in  these  banks.  Such  management  and  use 
of  the  public  money  is  in  direct  conflict  with  the  doctrine  of 
equality  of  rights,  forming  a  portion  of  the  creed  of  the  Demo 
cratic  party.  Keeping  the  public  money  anywhere  except  in  the 
nation's  Treasury,  where  the  Government  can  control  and  use  it, 
as  required  by  law,  is  a  violation  of  the  principles  cherished  by 
the  Democratic  party.  The  Democrats  insist  upon  keeping  the 
public  money  where  it  can  neither  be  wrongfully  used,  nor  stolen, 
and  the  anti-Democrats  where  speculators  and  rogues  can  have 
access  to  it  and  profit  by  its  use.  This  presents  a  striking  differ 
ence  between  the  two  parties. 


THE   PRESIDENTIAL   ELECTION   OF   1810.  199 


83.— THE  PRESIDENTIAL  ELECTION  OF  1840. 

Mr.  Van  Buren  was  elected  in  1836,  with  the  hearty  concur 
rence  of  popular  opinion.  But  the  smash-up  of  the  State  bank  de 
posit  system,  the  financial  crisis  and  distress  it  occasioned,  the  dis 
appointment  of  the  speculators  occasioned  by  General  Jackson's 
Specie  Circular,  his  strict  adherence  to  our  neutrality  laws  during 
the  Canadian  Patriot  War,  and  the  war  of  all  the  banks  against 
l.irn,  rendered  the  defeat  of  Mr.  Van  Buren  inevitable.  The  per 
formance  of  every  duty  of  his  office  with  strict  fidelity  and  su 
perior  ability,  had  no  effect  in  staying  the  whirlwind,  which 
untoward  circumstances,  for  which  he  was  in  no  way  responsible, 
had  raised  against  him.  He  was  one  of  the  best  business-men 
ever  in  the  presidential  office,  and  General  Jackson  committed  no 
error,  when,  on  his  death-bed,  he  told  B.  F.  Butler  he  was  the 
wisest  man  he  ever  saw.  But  neither  wisdom  nor  merit  could 
stay  the  current  that  was  destined  to  sweep  him  away.  His  re- 
nomination  was  united  and  cordial,  and  the  platform  on  which  he 
stood  was  sound,  and  cordially  concurred  in  by  the  Democracy 
of  the  nation.  His  renomination  was  unopposed  and  unanimous. 
At  the  instance  of  Felix  Grundy  and  John  A.  Dix,  the  writer 
prepared  the  platform  on  which  he  ran,  which  the  convention 
unanimously  adopted,  and  which  received  the  indorsement  of  every 
considerable  Democratic  convention  in  the  United  States,  and  has 
been  reiterated  by  every  national  convention  of  Democrats  since 
held  down  to  1864,  and  most  of  it  was  once  adopted  in  declara 
tory  resolutions  by  the  House  of  Representatives,  John  Quincy 
Adams  voting  for  many  of  them.  These  resolutions  may  be 
rightfully  considered  as  declaring  settled  Democratic  principles, 
in  which  all  Democrats  cordially  concur.  They  are  as  follows  : 

1.  That  the  Federal  Government  is  one   of  limited  powers, 
derived  solely  from  the  Constitution,  and  the  grants  of  power 
therein  ought  to  be  strictly  construed,  by  all  the  departments  and 
agents   of    the   Government;    and    that   it    is    inexpedient    and 
dangerous  to  exercise  doubtful  constitutional  powers. 

2.  That  the  Constitution  does  not  confer  upon  the  General 


200  DEMOCRACY   IN    THE   UNITED    STATES. 

Government  the  power  to  commence  and  cany  on  a  general  sys 
tem  of  internal  improvements. 

3.  That  the  Constitution  does  not  confer  authority  upon  the 
Federal  Government,  directly  or  indirectly,  to  assume  the  debts 
of  the  several  States,  contracted  for  local  internal  improvements, 
or  other  State  purposes ;  nor  would  such  assumption  be  just  or 
expedient. 

4.  That  justice  and  sound  policy  forbid  the  Federal  Govern 
ment  to  foster  one  branch  of  industry  to  the  detriment  of  another, 
or  to  cherish  the  interests  of  one  portion  of  the  country  to  the  in 
jury  of  another  portion  of  our  common  country ;  that  every  citizen 
and  every  section  of  the  country  has  a  right  to  demand  and  insist 
upon  an  equality  of  rights  and  privileges,  and  to  complete  and 
ample  protection  of  persons  and  property  from  domestic  violence 
and  foreign  aggression. 

5.  That  it  is  the  duty  of  every  branch  of  the  Government  to 
enforce  and  practise  the  most  rigid  economy  in  conducting  our 
public  affairs ;  and  that  no  more  revenue  ought  to  be  raised  than 
is  required  to  defray  the  necessary  expenses  of  the  Government. 

6.  That  Congress  has  no  power  to  charter  a  national  bank ; 
that  we  believe  such  an  institution  one  of  deadly  hostility  to  the 
best  interests  of  the  country,  dangerous  to  our  republican  institu 
tions  and  the  liberties  of  the  people,  and  calculated  to  place  the 
business    of   the    country  within  the   control   of  a  concentrated 
money-power,  and  above  the  laws  and  will  of  the  people. 

V.  That  Congress  has  no  power  under  the  Constitution  to  in 
terfere  with  or  control  the  domestic  institutions  of  the  several 
States;  and  that  such  States  are  the  sole  and  proper  judges  of 
every  thing  appertaining  to  their  own  affairs,  not  prohibited  by 
the  Constitution ;  and  that  all  efforts  of  the  abolitionists  or  others, 
made  to  induce  Congress  to  interfere  with  questions  of  slavery, 
or  to  take  incipient  steps  in  relation  thereto,  are  calculated  to  lead 
to  the  most  alarming  and  dangerous  consequences ;  and  that  all 
such  efforts  will  have  an  inevitable  tendency  to  diminish  the  hap 
piness  of  the  people  and  endanger  the  stability  and  permanency 
of  the  Union,  and  ought  not  to  be  countenanced  by  any  friend  of 
our  political  institutions. 


THE   PEESIDENTIAL    ELECTION   QF   1840.  201 

8.  That  the  separation   of  the  moneys   of  the   Government 
from  banking  institutions  is  indispensable  for  the  safety  of  the 
funds  of  the  Government  and  the  rights  of  the  people. 

9.  That  the  liberal  principles  embodied  by  Jefferson  in  the 
I)eclaration  of  Independence,  and  sanctioned  in  the  Constitution, 
v  Inch  make  ours  the  land  of  liberty,  and  the  asylum  of  the  op- 
p  ressed  of  every  nation,  have  ever  been  cardinal  principles  in  the 
Democratic  faith ;  and  every  attempt  to  abridge  the  present  privi 
lege  of  becoming  citizens  and  the  owners  of  soil  among  us  ought 
to  be  resisted  with  the  same  spirit  which   swept  the  Alien  and 
Sedition  Laws  from  our  statute-book. 

The  adversaries  of  Mr.  Van  Buren  took  the  opposite  side  of 
"lie  questions  to  which  these  nine  resolutions  pointed  in  practice, 
and  in  the  shape  of  addresses  and  resolves  as  to  nearly  all  of  them. 
The  resolutions  pointed  out  the  consequences  which  would  flow 
from  the  opposite  policy.  By  not  conforming  to  the  principles 
of  the  resolution  against  national  banks,  we  have  now  eighteen 
hundred  such  banks ;  and  by  not  honestly  and  firmly  resisting 
the  intermeddlings  of  the  abolitionists  in  the  affairs  of  the  Southern 
States,  we,  besides  destroying  half  a  million  of  lives,  have  on  our 
shoulders  a  public  debt  of  more  than  three  thousand  millions  of 
dollars,  to  say  nothing  of  municipal  and  State  debts,  a  divided 
Union,  and  a  demoralized  people,  who  are  taxed  beyond  their  abil 
ity  to  bear,  simply  to  support  the  Government  and  pay  interest. 

Mr.  Van  Buren  cordially  approved  of  these  resolutions,  as  the 
Democrats  did  everywhere.  But  it  was  impossible  to  resist  the 
combined  influences  brought  against  him.  Since  1840  the  Demo 
crats  have  elected  three  Presidents,  each  openly  avowing  that  he 
approved  of  the  principles  put  forth  in  the  foregoing  resolutions. 
Although  the  questions  before  the  public  at  the  time  were  differ 
ent  in  form,  the  principles  there  involved  were  the  same  as  at  the 
present  time.  The  constitutional  principles  then  declared  as 
necessary  for  the  protection  and  prosperity  of  the  people  are 
identical  with  those  now  under  discussion  before  the  people.  The 
line  of  policy  then  suggested  as  wisest  and  best  to  be  pursued 
is  the  same  as  now  urged  by  the  Democracy.  The  Democratic 
party  have  ever  recognized  the  binding  effect  of  the  principles 
9* 


202  DEMOCRACY   IN   THE    UNITED   STATES. 

thus  avowed  in  1840,  and  the  anti-Democratic  party,  by  whatever 
name  they  may  be  known,  have  ever  practically  opposed  them,  if 
not  in  authoritative  public  avowal. 

84.— TARIFF  DUTIES  ON  FOREIGN  IMPORTATIONS. 

The  Constitution  expressly  authorizes  Congress  to  lay  and 
collect  duties,  "  to  pay  the  debts,  and  to  provide  for  the  common 
defence  and  general  welfare  of  the  United  States,  but  all  duties 
shall  be  uniform  throughout  the  United  States."  The  power  and 
object  are  indisputable.  There  is  no  room  for  cavil  or  argument. 
There  is  nothing  left  to  form  the  basis  of  a  question  in  the  ordi 
nary  and  honest  mind.  Money  for  the  Treasury,  for  particular 
uses,  is  the  express  and  only  object,  the  collection  of  which  may 
collaterally  affect  other  things.  Incidentally,  duties  raise  prices 
to  the  extent  they  are  imposed,  and  so  for  our  own  productions 
are  increased  in  price,  giving  them  thus  an  incidental  advantage, 
which  necessary  follows.  For  more  than  half  a  century,  there  has 
been  a  struggle  on  the  part  of  domestic  producers  to  give  the  in 
cident  the  place  of  the  principal  object.  Such  a  course,  in  fact,  is 
equivalent  to  making  and  collecting  a  general  tax  to  favor  partic 
ular  interests. 

In  1783  the  Congress  of  the  Confederation  established  a 
tariff  of  duties,  and  in  1*789  Mr.  Madison,  under  the  new  Govern 
ment,  proposed  the  same,  which  consisted  of  the  following  items 
on  which  he  proposed  specific  duties,  the  amount  being  left 
blank : — On  rum, ;  on  spirituous  liquors, ;  on  mo 
lasses,  ;  on  madeira  wine, ;  on  all  other  wines, ; 

on  common  bohea  teas, ;  on  all  other  teas,  —  — ;  on  pep 
per,  ;  on  brown  sugars, —  ;  on  loaf  sugars, ;  on  all 

other  sugars, ;  on  cocoa  and  coffee,  —  —  ;  on  all  other  arti 
cles,  —  per-cent.  on  their  value  at  the  time  and  place  of  im 
portation.  Such  was  the  beginning  of  our  tariffs,  which  are  now 
swollen  to  pages  upon  pages,  and  are  nearly  as  unstable  as  the 
winds.  They  do  not  remain  at  one  point  long  enough  for  the 
business  of  the  country  to  accommodate  itself  to  them,  as  it  would 
in  time.  These  perpetual  changes  are  profitable  to  the  few  and 
ruinous  to  the  many.  There  have  been  over  fifty  laws  enacted  in 


TARIFF   DUTIES    ON   FOREIGN   IMPORTATIONS.  203 

relation  to  duties  on  importations.  When  changes  are  sought  for 
the  benefit  of  a  class,  their  extent  is  determined  by  the  number 
a, id  extent  necessary  to  secure  votes  to  make  them.  Sectional 
and  local  interests  are  attended  to,  or  overlooked,  as  this  necessity 
shall  dictate.  Interest,  and  not  principle,  determines  what  shall  be 
clone.  If  votes  from  Louisiana  and  Texas  are  needed,  sugar  will 
come  in  for  favor.  If  support  is  needed  from  Illinois,  Wiscon 
sin,  Minnesota,  and  Michigan,  lead,  copper,  and  pine  lumber  are 
provided  for.  If  the  votes  of  Pennsylvania  are  wanted,  coal  and 
iron  receive  full  attention.  If  help  is  wanted  from  Vermont  and 
certain  Western  States,  wool  and  butter  are  cared  for.  If  the 
rotes  of  New  England  are  needed,  ship-building  and  manufactures 
are  the  objects  of  favor.  If  support  is  desired  from  Missouri  and 
Kentucky,  hemp  must  not  be  overlooked.  The  principle  of  pro 
tection  under  a  tariff  never  expands  beyond  the  objects  necessary 
to  carry  a  bill.  In  form,  these  bills  contain  most  ample  encour 
agement  on  articles  like  hay,  grain,  and  cotton,  where  there  can 
be  no  competition  by  importation.  In  such  cases,  whether  the 
duties  are  on,  or  off,  can  make  no  possible  difference  in  the  price. 
All  such  pretences  of  protection  are  delusive  cheats,  and  are  only 
intended  to  prevent  discussion  and  stifle  complaint.  While  the 
Constitution  declares  expressly  the  object  of  tariff  duties,  no  other 
can  supersede  or  exclude  that  object.  It  is  legally  impossible 
that  there  should  be  express  and  implied  objects  on  the  same  sub 
ject,  under  the  Constitution.  The  former  necessarily  excludes 
the  latter  ;  and  this  is  the  more  clear  when  the  implied  one  con 
flicts  with  that  which  is  express.  If  duties,  higher  than  the  ne 
cessities  of  the  Treasury  require,  are  imposed  for  the  benefit  of 
one  class,  they  must  be  paid  by  those  who  do  not  receive  protec 
tion.  Under  the  high-tariff  theory,  a  clause  in  the  Constitution, 
for  raising  revenue  by  duties  on  importation,  imposes,  in  legal 
effect,  two  distinct  taxes:  one  for  the  Treasury,  and  another  for 
a  class  engaged  in  particular  branches  of  business,  by  way  of  pro 
tection.  In  other  words,  under  a  clause  which  declares  duties 
shall  be  equal  in  all  parts  of  the  United  States,  there  shall  be  two 
taxes,  one  direct,  for  the  Government,  and  the  other  indirect, 
upon  one  class  of  people,  for  the  exclusive  benefit  of  another.  The 


204  DEMOCEACY   IN   THE   UNITED    STATES. 

Constitution  gives  no  countenance  to  any  such  construction.  All 
it  demands  is  duties  to  pay  debts,  and  for  common  defence  and 
general  welfare — not  the  welfare  of  a  class,  or  a  section  of  the 
country.  There  is  no  rational  pretence  of  authority  to  enable  one 
class  of  the  community  to  lay  and  collect  duties  of  another  class. 
If  equal  justice  were  extended  to  all,  tariffs  would  never  be  de 
manded.  Aside  from  the  Constitution  and  its  restraints,  legisla 
tion  which  could  impose  two  taxes  upon  one  part  of  the  commu 
nity,  and  but  one  on  the  other,  can  have  no  justification.  It  would 
be  in  conflict  with  the  principle  of  equal  rights,  upon  which  our 
Government  rests,  and  without  which  we  can  never  live  in  har 
mony  and  quiet,  and  enjoy  prosperity. 

Although  the  tendency  of  protective  duties  is  in  favor  of  mak 
ing  us  dependent  only  upon  ourselves  for  supplies,  it  can  never 
fully  accomplish  that  purpose,  because  the  larger  number  of  arti 
cles  we  use  can  only  be  obtained  abroad.  But  any  such  assumed 
independence  has  its  accompanying  evil  of  great  magnitude.  It 
tends  to  destroy  our  commerce  and  our  commercial  marine,  from 
which  our  navy  is  supplied  with  bold  and  stout-hearted  sailors. 
Besides,  it  deprives  us  of  markets  abroad  for  our  productions,  in 
exchange  for  which  we  receive  foreign  productions.  Few  nations 
become  buyers  when  they  are  not  also  sellers.  It  is  impossible 
that  any  nation  could  long  do  this.  Commerce  carries  abroad  the 
products  which  we  can  spare,  and  brings  others  in  return  which 
we  need.  This  gives  employment  to  ship-builders,  seamen,  and 
merchants.  The  nations  of  the  earth  will  neither  know  nor  re 
spect  us  if  we  have  no  commerce.  If  we  have  none  to  aid  and 
protect,  our  navy  would,  of  necessity,  disappear  from  the  seas,  as 
no  longer  of  practical  use.  If  we  lock  ourselves  up  as  self-depend 
ent,  and  cease  to  be  largely  buyers  and  sellers,  our  Treasury 
would  soon  collapse,  and  increased  internal  taxes  must  be  imposed 
to  pay  debts,  and  provide  for  the  common  defence  and  general 
welfare.  Commerce  is  the  great  civilizcr,  and  teaches  us  the  im 
provements  made  throughout  the  world.  Any  policy  which  fails 
to  place  agriculture  and  commerce  on  as  favorable  a  footing  as 
any  other  interest  is  unconstitutional,  and  cannot  long  continue 
without  the  most  ruinous  consequences.  The  true  rule  is,  equal  and 


TARIFF   DUTIES    ON   FOREIGN   IMPORTATIONS.  205 

exact  justice  to  all,  and  special  favors  to  none.  The  Constitution 
means  this,  and  sound  policy  demands  it.  There  must  be  a  true 
principle  in  framing  tariffs  as  well  as  other  laws,  and  this  principle 
cannot  be  a  vibrating  or  changing  one.  It  is  always  applicable. 
If  duties  are  too  low,  the  receipts  to  the  Treasury  will  be  too 
small,  and  if  so  high  as  to  be  prohibitory,  the  effect  will  be  the 
same.  That  rate  should  be  adopted  which  will  produce  the 
largest  amount  of  necessary  revenue,  taxing  only  a  limited  num 
ber  of  articles,  and  including  in  the  free  list  as  many  of  the  abso 
lute  and  common  necessaries  of  life  as  the  wants  of  the  Treasury 
will  permit.  Such  rates  can  be  arrived  at  with  tolerable  certainty, 
by  a  diligent  comparison  of  our  commercial  and  financial  tables. 
In  such  examinations  the  original  and  complete  statistics  should 
be  examined  and  relied  upon,  without  reference  to  compilations 
and  reports,  which  are  often  so  framed  as  to  lead  the  mind  to  a 
desired  conclusion.  Clerks  in  departments  have  been  furnished 
with  propositions,  and  directed  to  make  compilations  of  statistics 
to  sustain  them.  In  Congress,  we  see  many  compilations  made, 
not  for  the  purpose  of  developing  truth,  but  to  sustain  one  side  of 
a  question,  and  by  these  the  country  is  misled. 

A  careful  examination  of  the  tariffs  passed  in  this  country  will 
show  that  local  and  sectional  interests  have  exercised  a  preponder 
ating  influence  in  their  passage — that  the  masses  paying  duties 
beyond  those  imposed  for  revenue  receive  no  protection  in  fact, 
if  they  even  do  so  as  a  mere  matter  of  form.  Most  of  them  have 
been  used,  more  or  less,  as  instruments  with  reference  to  elections, 
mostly  for  President  and  Vice-President.  When  such  motives 
prevail,  wise  and  just  legislation  cannot  be  expected,  and  seldom 
occurs.  "When  principles  cease  to  be  our  guide,  we  never  go 
right ;  and,  when  we  follow  self-interest,  we  always  go  wrong. 

Upon  the  principles  for  which  we  contend,  no  such  legislation  as 
described  can  be  based.  It  has  neither  equality,  justice,  nor  con 
stitutional  authority  to  support  it.  It  is  anti-Democratic  in  its 
whole  length  and  breadth.  It  practically  gives  a  few  localities, 
and  especially  New  England,  more  advantages  than  are  enjoyed 
by  all  the  rest  of  the  Union ;  and  still,  like  "  Oliver  Twist,"  they 
are  continually  crying  for  <;  more."  The  true  interests  of  all  parts 


206  DEMOCRACY   IN   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

of  the  country  demand  a  tariff  as  fair  and  just  as  the  wisdom  of 
intelligent  and  honest  men  can  make  it,  and  that  it  remain  un 
changed.  If  the  exigencies  of  the  revenue  should  demand  more  or 
less  revenue,  the  tariff  can  be  made  to  conform  to  the  wants  of  the 
Treasury  by  adding  or  diminishing  by  a  certain  percentage,  and 
let  that  be  done  by  those  administering  the  Government,  only 
when  the  necessity  is  upon  us,  and  for  a  specified  period,  leaving 
the  people  to  adapt  themselves  and  their  business  to  the  require 
ments  of  the  permanent  law. 

This  tariff  system  has  other  attendant  evils.  It  lies  at  the 
foundation  of  sectional  discontent,  and,  whether  the  sole  or  true 
cause  or  not,  the  consequences  in  endangering  the  Union  are  the 
same.  When  a  man  believes  himself  aggrieved  by  the  act  of  another, 
his  unhappiness  is  the  same,  whether  his  belief  is  true  or  false.  In 
legislation,  we  should  not  only  avoid  all  wrong,  but  such  acts  as 
those  interested  and  associated  with  us  may  deem  the  source  of 
wrong.  The  tariff  of  1828,  based  upon  the  principles  which  we 
have  condemned,  caused  the  South,  not  only  to  complain,  but  por 
tions  of  it  to  resort  to  nullification  as  a  remedy — a  remedy  far 
worse  than  the  disease.  While  justly  bidding  defiance  to  nullifi 
cation,  Congress,  by  the  Compromise  Tariff  Act  of  March  2d, 
1833,  conceded  the  wrong.  But  this  act  rested  upon  a  wrong 
basis.  It  provided  biennial  deductions  until  no  article  should  pay 
over  twenty  per  cent,  duty,  thus  committing  an  error,  which,  in 
1842,  left  the  Government  without  the  means  to  meet  its  expenses, 
and,  but  for  the  self-sacrificing  efforts  of  Silas  Wright,  Mr.  Tyler's 
administration  would  have  been  broken  down,  and  the  country, 
at  home  and  abroad,  utterly  disgraced.  Legislators  should  reflect 
that  it  is  less  their  duty  to  bring  numbers  to  bear  in  imposing 
taxes,  than  in  so  regulating  them  as  to  promote  the  welfare  and 
happiness  of  all  the  people.  Those  who  believe  themselves  op 
pressed  will  speak,  and  show  their  discontent,  and  discontent  will 
produce  weakness  in  the  Government  and  unhappiness  among  the 
people,  who  have  a  right  to  expect  that  the  Constitution  will  be 
so  administered  as  to  promote  their  happiness.  Although  Shay's 
Rebellion  in  Massachusetts,  the  Whisky  Insurrection  in  Pennsyl 
vania,  and  nullification  in  South  Caroliuia,  had  no  good  ground 


JOHN    A.    DIX.  207 

to  stand  upon,  they  created  as  much  un happiness  and  mischief  as  if 
they  had  just  causes  of  complaint.  It  is  far  better  to  leave  power 
u;iexercised  than  to  resort  to  that  which  is  unauthorized  or  doubt 
ful  under  the  Constitution. 

85.— JOHN  A.  DIX. 

The  name  of  General  Dix  is  familiar  to  the  American  ear,  and 
is  always  spoken  with  respect.  lie  was  born  at  BoscawenJ  in  New 
Hampshire,  July  24.  1798.  He  received  a  limited  education  in 
his  native  State  ;  but,  before  he  was  fourteen,  joined  his  father  in 
Maryland,  who  was  performing  the  duties  of  commandant  at  An 
napolis,  and  acted  as  his  clerk,  in  the  recruiting  service.  He  was 
soon  after  appointed  an  ensign,  and  accompanied  Wilkinson  on 
an  expedition  down  the  St.  Lawrence,  when  his  father  died  near 
Ohrystler's  Fields,  below  Prescott,  in  Canada.  He  remained  in 
the  army,  and  rose  to  the  rank  of  captain ;  and,  after  the  close 
of  the  war,  on  the  recommendation  of  that  close  observer,  the 
late  General  Roger  Jones,  was  selected  (in  1819)  by  General 
Jacob  Brown  as  one  of  his  aides,  to  assist  him  as  the  Command 
ing  General  of  the  Army.  General  Brown,  becoming  physically 
disabled,  his  duties  were  mainly  performed  by  Captain  Dix.  On 
'.he  death  of  General  Brown,  he  drew  up  for  the  War  Department 
;he  general  order  to  the  army,  which  is  a  production  worthy  of 
the  best  pen  of  the  country,  being  at  once  accurately  descriptive 
of  his  chief,  his  great  powers  and  ready  resources,  and,  at  the 
same  time,  paying  his  memory  a  beautiful  and  feeling  com 
pliment.  Captain  Dix,  while  sojourning  with  General  Brown  at 
Brownville,  studied  law,  and  was  subsequently  admitted  to 
practice.  He  was,  for  a  time,  in  charge  at  Fortress  Monroe,  but 
resigned,  and  settled  in  Cooperstown,  New  York,  in  the  practice 
of  the  law,  and  as  a  land-agent.  Soon  after,  Governor  Throop, 
appreciating  the  man  and  his  qualifications,  made  him  Adjutant- 
General  of  New  York.  Two  years  after  he  was  made  Secretary 
of  State,  and,  as  such,  had  charge  of  the  common  schools  of  the 
State  as  superintendent.  In  this  place  he  rendered  most  im 
portant  service,  and  reduced  the  common-school  system  to  order. 
In  1842  he  was  elected  to  the  Assembly  from  Albany  county, 


208  DEMOCEACY   IN   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

and  aided,  by  liis  active  influence,  to  establish  the  Conservative 
policy  of  that  period. 

In  the  winter  of  1845  he  was  elected  to  fill  the  vacancy  in  the 
Senate  of  the  United  States,  occasioned  by  the  resignation  ot 
Silas  Wright,  who  had  become  governor,  which  office  he  filled 
until  the  4th  of  March,  1849,  when  he  was  succeeded  by  William 
II.  Seward.  While  in  the  Senate,  he  was  Chairman  of  the  Com 
mittee  on  Commerce,  and  was  also  the  Acting  Chairman  of  the 
Committee  on  Military  Affairs.  Several  highly  important  com 
mercial  and  financial  bills  were  reported  by  him,  which  were 
passed,  and  became,  and  still  remain,  laws.  His  speeches  in 
the  Senate  were  confined  to  business  matters,  and  were  remark 
able  for  their  clearness,  force,  and  pertinency. 

During  Mr.  Piercc's  administration,  he  consented  to  accept  the 
office  of  Assistant-Treasurer  at  the  city  of  New  York.  But  the 
duties  were  so  arduous  and  confining — he  always  attending  to 
them  in  person,  and  examining  every  day  the  accounts,  and  carry 
ing  the  keys  himself — that  he  soon  resigned. 

Toward  the  close  of  Mr.  Buchanan's  administration,  the 
Treasury  Department  became  considerably  embarrassed  for  want 
of  money.  On  the  resignation  of  Mr.  Thomas,  the  President  ap 
pointed  General  Dix  as  Secretary  of  the  Treasury.  This  was  a 
wise  and  fortunate  appointment.  Capitalists  had  great  confidence 
in  the  new  secretary,  and  readily  supplied  all  the  money  the 
Government  needed.  His  previous  familiarity  with  the  affairs  of 
the  Federal  Government  enabled  him  to  master  the  affairs  of  the 
department  in  a  very  short  time.  When  he  left  it  on  the  4th  of 
March,  1861,  its  business  was  in  excellent  condition.  It  was  in 
this  department  that  his  strong  Union  feeling  was  developed. 
It  was  here  he  made  the  celebrated  order,  "  If  any  man  attempts 
to  haul  down  the  American  flag,  shoot  him  on  the  spot,"  an  order 
designed  to  protect  the  Stars  and  Stripes  on  board  of  the  reve 
nue  cutters,  which  were  under  his  control  ass  ecretary.  It  was 
the  ring  of  the  true  metal,  and  electrified  all  classes  of  men  not 
secessionists.  He  was  in  the  department  sufficiently  long  to 
manifest  a  superior  capacity  as  an  executive  officer,  and  to 
win  the  confidence  and  esteem  of  President  Buchanan  and  the 
country. 


JOHN   A.    DIX.  209 

In  1848,  while  yet  in  the  Senate,  much  against  his  own  wishes, 
as  the  writer  knows,  he  was  nominated  for  Governor  of  New 
York,  on  the  Van  Buren,  or  anti-Cass,  ticket.  The  Democratic 
party  being  divided,  he  was  of  course  defeated.  In  his  letter  of 
ac  ceptance  of  this  nomination,  he  fully  avowed  the  principles  of 
tl.e  Democratic  party.  His  course  has  been  such,  that  this  act 
h  is  not  impaired  his  standing  with  the  Democratic  party.  No 
one  is  more  thoroughly  attached  to  Democratic  principles,  both 
in  theory  and  in  practice. 

"When  the  recent  war  was  commenced,  New  York  brought 
him  forward  as  a  suitable  person  for  military  command.  He  was 
made  a  major-general  of  volunteers.  General  Scott,  then  at  the 
1  ead  of  the  army,  telegraphed  him  to  come  to  Washington,  to 
take  a  command  on  the  Virginia  side  of  the  Potomac.  On  his 
arrival,  he  was  most  cordially  received  by  the  veteran  hero,  and 
was  informed  that  his  command  would  be  between  Georgetown 
find  Alexandria,  "nearest  the  enemy." 

The  Secretary  of  War  (Cameron)  received  him  with  cold  cour 
tesy,  without  consulting  with  him  at  all. 

Without  any  explanation  this  command  was  given  to  General 
.McDowell.  "When  General  Patterson's  term  of  service  expired,  it 
was  expected  General  Dix  would  be  given  the  command  at  Harper's 
Ferry.  But  General  Banks,  who  found  the  duties  at  Maryland  un 
pleasant,  and  wished  to  achieve  military  glory,  was  sent  there, 
and  General  Dix  ordered  to  the  command  of  Maryland.  Nearly 
a  month  passed  before  he  was  offered  any  command,  which  so 
annoyed  and  disgusted  his  friends,  that  they  advised  him  to  resign 
and  return  home.  Others,  and  among  them  the  writer,  advised 
otherwise,  and  he  remained.  The  duties  assigned  him  in  Mary 
land  were  more  of  a  police  than  of  a  military  character.  Such 
as  they  were,  he  performed  them  to  the  satisfaction  of  every  one. 
He  so  far  restored  patriotic  feeling  there  that  the  State  gave  30,000 
Union  majority  in  November,  1861.  He  organized  the  expedi 
tion  which  restored  Eastern  Virginia  to  her  former  loyal  relations. 
W7hen  these  duties  were  performed  he  was  ordered  to  the  com 
mand  of  Fortress  Monroe,  a  colonel's  command,  against  his  earnest 
remonstrance.  He  applied  to  the  President  for  command  at 


210  DEMOCRACY   IN   THE   UNITED    STATES. 

Charleston,  but  was  refused.  After  General  McClellan  retired 
from  Virginia  and  took  command  at  Antictam,  General  Dix  com 
manded  several  military  enterprises,  which  he  was  not  permitted 
to  complete.  President  Lincoln  offered  him  General  Butler's 
command  at  New  Orleans,  which  he  accepted  verbally.  But  no 
order  ever  came,  General  Banks  being  sent  to  relieve  General 
Butler,  and  General  Dix  ordered  to  New  York,  at  the  time  of  the 
riots,  and  to  perform  little  but  police  duties.  The  suppression  of 
newspapers  and  the  arrest  of  their  editors  do  not  seem  to  be  the 
legitimate  duties  of  a  soldier.  Against  his  wishes  and  advice  he 
was  compelled  to  lay  violent  hands  upon  the  Journal  of  Com 
merce  and  The  World,  for  publishing  what  came  to  them  as  or 
dinary  telegraphic  dispatches,  anticipating  newrs.  They  were 
forgeries,  by  a  republican  friend  of  the  Administration.  In  these 
things  he  merely  obeyed  orders  from  his  superiors  at  Washington. 
Throughout  the  war  General  Dix  manifested  the  patience  and  re 
signation  of  a  martyr.  He  served  his  country  faithfully  and  well 
in  the  positions  assigned  him.  No  one  could  have  done  so  better. 
But  his  superior  abilities  and  great  experience  entitled  him  to  the 
highest  commands.  General  Scott  thought  he  should  be  assigned 
to  his  place  when  he  retired  from  active  duties.  But  his  place 
was  given  to  General  McClellan,  who  was  equal  to  its  duties,  and 
soon  taken  from  him  to  prevent  his  rising  too  fast  in  the  estima 
tion  of  his  countrymen. 

Why  this  remarkable  treatment  of  General  Dix?  Why 
compel  him  to  perform  mostly  odious  and  painful  services,  instead 
of  giving  him  a  high  and  active  command  in  the  field,  where  his 
experience,  knowledge,  and  capacity  would  have  been  of  great 
service  to  the  country  ?  Why  ignore  him,  and  take  such  men  as 
McDowell,  Banks,  Pope,  Hooker,  Meade,  Burnside,  and  others 
who  had  fewer  qualifications?  The  answer  is  at  hand.  When  in 
the  Senate  of  the  United  States,  General  Dix's  high  character, 
talents,  and  experience  became  known  throughout  the  Union,  as 
it  had  been  for  a  long  time  in  New  York.  His  name,  in  various 
quarters,  had  been  associated  with  the  office  of  President.  Although 
there  was  no  organized  party  in  his  favor,  a  large  number  of  Dem 
ocrats  preferred  his  nomination  in  I860.  Had  he  been  then 


JOHN   A.    DIX.  211 

nominated,  secession  would  have  had  nothing  to  stand  upon. 
There  would  have  been  "no  division  in  the  Democratic  party, 
without  which  Mr.  Lincoln  could  not  have  been  elected.  Without 
his  election  the  South  would  have  had  nothing  to  complain  of 
or  fight  abont. 

It  was  well  understood  in  all  quarters,  by  good  observers, 
that  Lincoln's  reelection  depended  upon  not  allowing  any  Demo 
cratic  military  man  to  win  victories  and  military  success  enough 
to  aid  in  his  election.  A  man  of  the  high  character  and  standing 
of  General  Dix,  as  a  civilian,  might  be  a  formidable  candidate. 
If  to  his  present  qualifications  should  be  added  successful  military 
achievements,  he  would  prove  a  formidable  competitor.  Hence, 
instead  of  giving  him  the  command  General  Scott  had  intended, 
he  was  not  permitted  to  occupy  a  military  position  where  he 
could  add  to  his  already  high  reputation.  To  make  all  safe 
against  popularity  already  acquired,  he  was  placed  where  he  must 
perform  just  those  services  which  would  tend  to  diminish  it.  He 
was  called  upon  to  perform  odious  and  known  illegal  duties  which 
would  tend  to  injure  him  and  prevent  his  nomination.  He  was 
doomed  to  be  killed  by  the  administration,  and  was  compelled  to 
strike  blows  which  those  ordering  them  intended  should  have 
that  effect.  Tlie  loss  of  two  battles  at  Bull  Run,  at  Fredericks- 
burg,  and  other  places,  are  among  the  fruits  of  this  fatal  policy 
of  refusing  commands  to  competent  men  and  conferring  them  on 
men  of  known  unfitness.  If  permitted  fair  play,  competent  gen 
erals  would  have  ended  the  war  the  second  year,  and  with  it  would 
have  ended  the  sectional  administration  of  the  Republican  party, 
as  well  as  the  thrift  of  the  shoddyites.  The  maxim  "  not  to  swap 
horses  when  crossing  a  stream  "  was  in  point,  and  to  which  full 
effect  must  be  given.  Lincoln  must  be  reflected.  This  was  the 
supposed  necessity.  Nothing  must  stand  in  its  way.  There  was 
great  thrift,  as  well  as  hopes  of  reelection,  in  continuing  the  war. 
It  was  the  question  of  reelection  and  Republican  supremacy  which 
prevented  General  Dix  receiving  a  command  worthy  of  him. 
President  Johnson  wisely  sent  him  minister  to  France.  A  more 
suitable  appointment  could  not  have  been  made.  General  Dix  is 
a  ripe  scholar,  and  has  travelled  much.  He  is  now  an  industrious 


212  DEMOCRACY   IN   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

student.  His  "  Winter  in  Madeira  "  and  "  Summer  in  Spain  and 
Florence"  prove  bim  a  close  and  accurate  observer  and  charming 
writer.  He  stands  deservedly  high  in  France  and  with  all  foreign 
ministers  there.  lie  is  now  rendering  our  country  good  service. 
We  have  said  thus  much  of  General  Dix  because  we  know  some 
of  his  acts  and  positions,  and  the  conduct  of  others  toward  him 
have  been  misapprehended.  We  state  what  we  know,  and  draw 
our  own  conclusions,  for  which  he  is  in  no  respect  responsible. 

86.— INTERNAL  REVENUE  TAXES. 

The  word  taxes  is  broad  enough  to  cover  every  thing  which 
the  Government  collects  of  the  people.  They  are  direct  and  in 
direct,  the  latter  including  duties,  imposts,  and  excises.  Direct 
taxes  are  imposed  directly  upon  property,  upon  which  they  are  a 
lien.  The  amount  to  be  collected  is  fixed,  and  this  is  apportioned 
among  the  States  according  to  their  number  of  members  in  the 
House  of  representatives.  This  is  expressly  required  by  the 
Constitution,  so  that  there  must  be  twice  as  much  collected  in 
States  having  two  members  as  in  those  having  but  one.  The  last 
act,  laying  a  direct  tax,  passed  in  1861,  has  never  been  executed. 
The  mode  of  assessing  and  collecting  very  much  resembles  that  in 
use  in  New  York  and  other  States. 

Duties  are  a  tax  paid  on  imported  merchandise  for  permission 
to  land  and  consume  it,  collected  at  custom-houses. 

Imposts,  although  the  meaning  has  varied  in  different  ages, 
mean  those  further  demands  at  the  custom-houses  made  by  gov 
ernments  for  various  purposes,  such  as  harbor  charges,  money  to 
be  expended  in  lighting  the  coast,  tonnage  on  vessels,  fees  of  offi 
cers,  and  money  paid  for  the  king's  private  use  for  permission  to 
carry  on  trade  with  different  foreign  countries.  In  this  country 
we  now  collect  officers'  fees,  and  formerly  collected  tonnage  dues 
and  light  money. 

Excise  originally  meant  a  tax  paid  by  the  manufacturers  and 
venders  of  beer,  cider,  perry,  and  like  drinks ;  but  in  time  ex 
tended  to  nearly  all  kinds  of  manufactures,  sometimes  imposed 
upon  those  who  made,  and  at  others  upon  those  who  consumed 
them.  The  internal  revenue  taxes  are,  except  that  on  incomes 


INTEKNAL   KEVENUE   TAXES.  213 

ar.d  some  others,  which  are  of  doubtful  constitutionality,  all  ex 
cises,  and  rest  upon  the  excise  provision  in  the  Constitution. 
This  instrument  provides  for  the  collection  of  taxes,  which  mean 
direct  taxes,  and  duties,  imposts,  and  excises,  as  the  other  form 
of  taxes.  The  specification  of  these  three  kinds  of  taxes  was  in 
tended  to  exclude  all  others.  Were  it  not  for  this  limitation,  ex 
ports  might  be  taxed,  and  people  might  be  compelled  to  pay  a 
tax  for  permission  to  reside  in  the  United  States,  or  hold  State 
offices,  or  for  rearing  children,  or  sending  them  to  school,  or  the 
privilege  of  belonging  to  a  church.  The  Constitution  also  pro 
vides,  that  all  duties,  imposts,  and  excises  shall  be  uniform 
throughout  the  United  States.  A  law  may  in  terms  be  uniform, 
but  be  far  otherwise  in  its  practical  effect. 

COTTON. — Cotton  can  only  be  raised  in  certain  Southern 
States.  A  duty  on  the  cotton  produced  is,  in  effect,  a  local  duty, 
and  can  only  be  collected  there.  The  Internal  Revenue  Law 
levied  a  duty  on  all  the  cotton  produced,  which  is  in  violation 
of  the  spirit  of  the  Constitution.  When  this  cotton  is  taken  to 
New  England  and  manufactured,  and  is  then  exported,  this  very 
three-cent  duty  is  refunded,  not  to  the  grower  of  the  cotton,  but 
to  the  manufacturer  and  exporter.  This  bounty  is  unconstitu 
tional — the  Constitution  authorizes  the  collection  of  taxes  to  pay 
debts  and  to  provide  for  the  common  defence  and  general  welfare, 
and  this  bounty  is  not  paid  for  either  of  these  purposes. 

DISTILLED  SPIRITS. — Distilling  whiskey  can  only  be  success 
fully  carried  on  in  the  great  grain-growing  States.  It  cannot  be 
advantageously  done  in  New  England,  which,  does  not  produce  its 
breadstuffs.  This  law  imposes  a  tax  of  two  dollars  per  gallon  on 
all  that  is  manufactured.  This  tax,  although  nominally  uniform, 
is  really  a  sectional  one,  bearing  heavily  upon  some  States  and 
lightly  upon  others. 

DRAWBACKS  ON  MANUFACTURES. — It  is  known  that  manufac 
turing  is  the  great  business  of  New  England,  while  it  forms  but  a 
small  portion  of  the  industry  in  some  other  States.  This  Internal 
Eevenue  Law  provides  for  refunding  taxes  paid  on  raw  materials 
when  manufactured  and  exported,  notwithstanding  they  may  have 
been  paid  by  others.  This  drawback  privilege  extends  to  all  ar- 


214:  DEMOCEACY   IN  THE   HOTTED   STATES. 

ticlcs,  with  specified  exceptions.     These  drawbacks  have  no  con 
stitutional  ground  to  stand  upon. 

The  free  list  includes  many  things  manufactured  in  few  places 
outside  of  New  England. 

ALTERATION  OF  STATE  LAWS  AND  CONTRACTS. — The  States  are 
prohibited  from  passing  laws  impairing  the  obligation  of  contracts ; 
and  Congress  has  no  authority  under  the  Constitution  to  pass  any 
such  law.  Still  Congress  has  done  this  under  the  taxing  power  in 
the  form  of  an  excise  duty.  Under  this  law  they  have  provided 
that,  where  property  is  delivered  under  a  contract  made  before 
the  passage  of  the  law,  the  party  may  add  the  amount  of  the  duty 
imposed  by  it  and  collect  it  of  the  other  party  beyond  the  provi 
sions  of  the  contract.  They  have  also  provided  that  gas  compa 
nies,  which  are  limited  by  State  laws  in  the  amount  of  their 
charges  for  gas,  may  add  the  tax  to  their  bills  and  collect  it  in 
defiance  of  the  State  law.  The  same  is  true  in  relation  to  omnibus 
fares. 

If  Congress,  under  the  taxing  power,  can  nullify  State  laws 
and  other  contracts  in  small  matters,  they  can  in  large.  If  the 
power  exists,  there  can  be  no  limit  to  its  exercise,  nor  any  restric 
tion  as  to  the  contracts  and  laws  that  shall  be  nullified  or  changed. 
The  principle  upon  which  this  legislation  rests  is  broad  enough 
to  enable  Congress  to  control  all  State  laws  and  all  transactions 
of  the  people.  If  this  be  so,  then  we  live  under  a  government 
where  all  power  rests,  in  the  estimation  of  Congress,  in  its  sov 
ereign  will,  which  is  the  definition  of  a  plural  tyranny. 

The  enactments  to  which  we  have  referred  are  not  only  un 
constitutional  both  in  form  and  substance,  but  they  are  anti- 
Democratic  in  principle.  They  are  not  equal  in  their  operation, 
and  only  protect  the  few  in  the  favored  quarters  and  are  oppres 
sive  in  others.  They  do  not  permit  mankind  to  seek  happiness 
in  their  own  way,  but  they  exact  of  some  and  confer  what  is  thus 
exacted  upon  others.  One  man  is  compelled  to  pay  the  Govern 
ment  three  cents  per  pound  on  the  cotton  he  produces,  and  the 
Government  pays  it  out  to  another  for  manufacturing  and  export 
ing  it.  If  a  man  has  made  a  contract  that  is  diminished  in  value 
by  the  act  of  the  Government,  instead  of  the  latter  indemnifying 


INTEKNAL   REVENUE   TAXES.  215 

Lira,  the  other  party  to  the  contract  is  compelled  to  bear  all  the 
loss.  If  gas  and  other  companies  have  charters,  which  the  act 
of  the  Government  has  rendered  unprofitable,  instead  of  relieving 
them  from  the '  consequences  of  its  acts,  Congress  throws  the 
\vhole  upon  the  other  party.  Such  legislation  cannot  be  defended 
by  those  who  believe  in  equality  of  rights  and  privileges.  These 
ristances  of  unconstitutional  legislation  were  not  accidental,  but 
\vere  the  result  of  deliberate  reflection,  and  more  than  once  re 
viewed,  and  are  the  natural  results  of  the  principles  of  the  party 
vfho  enacted  this  statute.  This  law  will  fail  to  command  the 
general  respect  of  the  people  until  the  Democratic  principle  of 
equality  of  rights  and  uniform  security  becomes  a  controlling  ele 
ment  in  it. 

It  is  under  this  law  that  the  State  banks  are  taxed  ten  per 
cent,  on  their  circulation,  the  consequence  of  which  is  that  nearly 
every  one  has  ceased  to  exist. 

But  the  execution  of  this  statute  is  as  bad  as  the  act  itself. 
Where  Congress  has  failed  to  provide  for  cases,  and  sometimes 
when  they  have  made  ample  provision,  the  Commissioner  legis 
lates  and  makes  laws  to  suit  himself,  without  the  least  regard  to 
the  principles  of  the  Constitution.  He  makes,  what  he  terms, 
decisions,  many  of  which  are  inconsistent,  and  others  are  un 
equalled  for  their  display  of  ignorance  and  absurdity.  All  such 
things  are  in  violation  of  the  rights  of  the  people,  and  are  inde 
fensible  under  the  statute  laws,  and .  the  rules  concerning  equality 
of  rights. 

87.— THE  FORCE  OF  BAD  PRECEDENTS  IN  LEGISLATION. 

We  have  elsewhere  remarked  upon  the  error  of  giving  an 
effect  to  precedent  over  that  of  logical  reason.  This  error  early 
crept  into  legislation,  and  has  often  bled  the  Treasury.  The 
authority  of  precedent  is  most  frequently  invoked  in  aid  of  pri 
vate  claims  and  pensions.  Those  engaged  in  prosecuting  claims 
hunt  up  and  cite  them  a-s  authority.  If  a  private  claim  is  a  debt, 
we  are  bound  to  pay  it,  as  much  as  any  other  debt ;  but  if  it  is  a 
gratuity  we  have  no  constitutional  authority  to  vote  money  or  means 
on  account  of  it.  The  distinction  is  plain  and  easily  understood. 


216  DEMOCEACY   IN   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

The  Constitution  is  the  only  authority  for  raising  money,  and  that 
confines  it  to  paying  debts,  providing  for  common  defence  and  gen 
eral  welfare.  Neither  of  these  authorizes  gratuities,  or  any  like  pur 
pose.  Sometimes  these  gratuities  have  rested  upon  even  a  worse 
foundation  than  personal  favor,  though  seldom  frankly  avowed. 

In  1841,  after  a  month's  service,  President  Harrison  died.  A 
bill  was  introduced  by  his  friends  to  give  his  widow,  or,  in  case 
of  her  death,  his  legal  representatives,  the  sum  of  $25,000.  Mrs. 
Harrison  did  not  claim  that  the  Government  owed  her  any  thing. 
It  was  a  gift  outright,  and  given  for  a  reason  assigned  by  Mr.  J. 
Q.  Adams,  who  reported  the  bill  to  the  house,  in  these  words : 

"  There  had  been  more  objection  to  the  constitutionality  than 
than  there  had  been  to  the  sum  proposed.  So  far  as  there  had 
been  any  discussion  in  the  committee,  it  seemed  to  be  the  general 
sense  of  those  composing  it,  that  some  provision  ought  to  be 
made  for  the  family  of  the  late  President,  not  in  the  nature  of  a 
grant,  but  as  an  indemnity  for  actual  expenses  incurred,  by  him 
self  first,  when  a  candidate  for  the  presidency.  It  had  been  ob 
served  in  the  committee,  and  must  be  known  to  all  the  members 
of  the  House,  that  in  the  situation  in  which  General  Harrison  had 
been  placed — far  from  the  seat  of  Government,  and  for  eighteen 
months  or  two  years,  while  a  candidate  for  the  presidency,  ex 
posed  to  a  burden  of  expense,  which  he  could  not  possibly  avoid 
— it  was  no  more  than  equitable  that  he  should,  to  a  reasonable 
degree,  be  indemnified." 

Here  the  ground  is  distinctly  taken,  that  when  poor  men  are 
elected  President  the  Government  ought  to  indemnify  them  for 
their  expenses  in  obtaining  the  office.  Once  admit  this  principle, 
and  the  indemnity  must  be  made,  regardless  of  amount.  This  bill 
passed  both  Houses,  which  were  decidedly  anti-Democratic.  This 
precedent,  though  not  resorted  to  on  the  death  of  President  Tay 
lor,  was  invoked  in  behalf  of  the  widow  of  President  Lincoln,  and 
$25,000  granted  her,  although  a  hundred  thousand  was  claimed. 
It  is  to  be  presumed  that  this  grant  was  made  as  an  indemnity 
for  election  expenses,  as  in  the  case  of  Mrs.  Harrison.  If  these 
appropriations  were  made  on  the  ground  of  right,  then  the  like 
sum  is  due  to  Mrs.  Taylor,  or  her  legal  representatives.  If  they 


THE   FOKCE   OF   BAD   PRECEDENTS    KST   LEGISLATION. 

were  mere  gifts,  or  provisions  to  cover  election  expenses,  then 
there  was  a  wanton  violation  of  duty  on  the  part  of  Congress  in 
making  them. 

These  cases  are  cited  to  show  how  little  Congress  observes 
the  Constitution  when  legislating  on  such  matters.  Bad  prece 
dents  in  granting  pensions  are  often  made,  and  almost  daily  fol 
lowed.  Invalid  pensions  are  clearly  right,  and  necessarily  result 
fi'Din  the  power  to  rai'se  and  support  armies  and  navies.  But 
these  only  form  a  part  of  the  immense  sum  paid  out  as  pensions. 
There  is  an  army  of  people  supported  on  pensions  who  have  never 
seen  any  service  whatever,  and  who  are  not  invalids. 

The  Government  at  an  early  day  set  aside  its  share  of  naval 
prizes  to  pension  the  wounded  and  disabled,  and  for  the  tempo 
rary  support  of  the  widows  of  those  killed  in  battle,  or  in  the  line 
of  their  duty.  After  the  "War  of  1812  this  fund  amounted  to  a 
million  and  a  quarter  of  dollars,  and,  being  invested,  produced 
over  $70,000,  which  was  applied  for  these  purposes,  and  when 
insufficient  the  Government  provided  what  more  was  needed.  In 
March,  1837,  a  bill  with  a  false  title  swept  the  whole  of  this  fund 
away,  and  required  an  immense  additional  expense.  It  required 
that  pensions  should  commence,  not  from  the  completion  of  the 
proof,  but  from  the  date  of  disability,  even  though  the  applicant 
continued  in  service,  and  received  full  pay.  It  extended  them  in 
all  cases  of  death,  whether  incurred  in  the  line  of  duty  or  not,  so 
that,  if  the  person  became  disabled  from  excesses  or  immoral  acts, 
lie  would  be  pensioned.  It  extended  widows'  pensions,  which  had 
been  only  for  five  years,  during  their  lives,  and  pensioned  children 
until  they  were  twenty-one,  thereby  conforming  to  the  English 
system.  It  was  ascertained  that  this  act  had  passed  without  dis 
cussion  on  the  last  night  of  the  session,  in  the  House,  under  the 
gag  of  the  previous  question.  In  1841  an  attempt  was  made  to 
repeal  it,  and  restore  the  former  law.  Mr.  Adams,  who  did  not  vote 
for  the  repeal,  gave  this  account  of  its  passage :  "  He  was  in  the 
House,  but  could  not  say  how  it  passed.  He  was  not  conscious 
of  it,  and  the  discussion  must  have  been  put  clown  in  the  way  in 
which  such  things  are  usually  done  in  this  House — by  clapping 
the  previous  question  upon  it.  No  questions  were  asked ;  and 
10 


218  DEMOCRACY   IN   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

that  was  the  way  in  which  the  bill  passed.  Ho  did  not  think  he 
could  tell  the  whole  story ;  but  he  thought  it  very  probable  that 
there  were  those  in  this  House  who  could  tell,  if  they  would ; 
and  who  could  tell  what  private  interests  were  provided  for  in  it." 
The  amendment  repealing  this  act  was  lost.  It  is  remarkable 
that  in  the  Senate,  when  this  amendment  was  voted  down,  all  the 
Whigs  voted  against  the  amendment,  and  all  the  Democrats  but 
one  for  it.  The  vote  in  the  House  presented  nearly  the  same  divi 
sion.  No  objection  can  be  made  to  voting  all  moneys  that  are 
needed  for  the  support  of  the  Government.  But  passing  laws  to 
provide  for  paying  electioneering  expenses,  and  gratuitously  pen 
sioning  for  life  those  who  have  never  served  in  the  army  or  navy, 
is  in  violation  of  the  Constitution  and  the  rights  of  the  people, 
whose  labor  provides  the  funds.  There  are  now  persons,  whose 
original  pensions  were  granted  for  five  years  under  the  old  laws, 
who  have  drawn  them  for  more  than  thirty  years.  Sometimes 
these  pension  acts  are  so  worded  that  their  real  meaning  is  not 
understood  by  many  voting  for  them.  These  acts,  as  far  as  they 
go  beyond  the  old  necessary  laws,  are  not  passed  for  the  good  of 
the  service,  but  with  reference  to  nominations  and  votes  at  elec 
tions.  On  examination,  these  things  become  quite  apparent. 
Now,  when  the  people  are  almost  sinking  under  heavy  taxation, 
these  errors  should  be  corrected  and  the  ancient  laws  be  re 
stored. 

88.— HEMAN  J.  REDFIELD. 

It  is  with  great  pleasure  that  we  give  a  short  sketch  of  Mr. 
Redfield.  His  life  has  been  a  long  and  useful  one,  ever  devoted 
to  the  maintenance  of  democratic  principles  and  upholding  the 
country  in  the  days  of  its  peril.  He  was  born  in  Connecticut, 
December  27,  1788.  His  father  moving  to  Western  New  York, 
he  assisted  him  on  his  farm  until  1808,  when  he  entered  the 
Canandaigua  Academy.  He  remained  there  two  years,  and  then 
read  law  with  John  C.  Spencer,  and  was  admitted  to  practice  in 
1815.  When  the  War  of  1812  came  on,  he  laid  aside  Black- 
stone,  Bacon,  and  Tidd,  and  volunteered  as  a  private  soldier,  and 
served  two  campaigns.  He  was  in  the  battle  of  Queenstown 


HEM  AN   J.    EEDFIELD.  219 

Heights,  in  September,  1812,  and  was  witli '  General  Harrison  at 
Fort  George,  in  November,  1813,  where  he  received  a  brevet  from 
the  commanding  general  for  gallant  services.  He  commenced  the 
practice  of  the  law  at  Le  Roy  in  1815,  and  was  appointed  a  jus 
tice  of  the  peace  and  master  in  Chancery,  and  soon  afterward  dis- 
tr.ct-attorney.  He  was  a  State  Senator  during  1823,  '24  and  '25. 
It  was  during  his  service  in  the  Senate  that  he  became  distin 
guished  as  one  of  the  celebrated  "  seventeen  "  Senators  who  were 
shown  up  in  coffin  handbills,  and  whose  effigies  were  hanged  and 
burned.  From  the  adoption  of  the  Federal  Constitution  down  to 
1324,  the  Presidential  Electors  in  New  York  had  been  elected  by 
the  Legislature.  In  Governor  Jay's  time  he  was  called  upon  to 
convene  the  Legislature  to  the  end  that  the  law  might  be  changed, 
and  thus  deprive  Mr.  Jefferson  of  electoral  votes  of  the  State. 
He  indignantly  refused  to  do  so.  The  Legislature  elected  in  1823, 
a  majority  being  Democrats,  it  was  understood,  would  give  the 
votes  of  the  State  to  whoever  should  be  nominated  by  a  Demo 
cratic  caucus.  William  II.  Crawford  was  thus  brought  before 
fie  people,  and  fairly  entitled  to  the  votes  of  the  State.  The 
fiends  of  other  candidates  sought  to  defeat  the  will  of  the  State 
1  V  changing  the  law.  For  this  purpose  a  bill  had  passed  the  As 
sembly  and  was  sent  to  the  Senate,  where  it  received  full  con 
sideration  and  much  discussion.  As  no  one  of  the  proposed  methods 
of  election  received  a  majority  of  the  votes  of  the  Senate,  a  motion 
to  postpone  further  consideration  until  after  the  election  pre 
vailed,  seventeen  Senators  voting  for  it.  Among  these  were  Mr. 
lledfield  and  Alvin  Bronson,  of  Oswego,  who  are  the  sole  sur 
vivors  of  those  distinguished  men.  Instead  of  their  conspiring 
to  cheat  the  people  out  of  their  rights,  they  sought  to  prevent  a 
fraud  upon  those  who  had  elected  the  Legislature  to  carry  out 
their  wishes.  Not  one  of  all  this  number  of  Senators  failed  to 
be  sustained  by  the  people.  Two  of  them — Charles  E.  Dudley 
and  Silas  Wright — subsequently  became  United  States  Senators, 
and  the  latter  Governor  of  the  State.  Both  Mr.  Eedfield  and  Mr. 
Bronson  feel  proud  of  their  votes  on  the  occasion. 

In  1825,  Mr.  Redficld  was  appointed  one  of  the  commission 
ers  on  the  part  of  New  York  to  settle  a  boundary  question  with 


220  DEMOCRACY   IN   THE   UNITED    STATES. 

New  Jersey.  He  was  post-master  at  Le  Roy  for  more  than  twenty 
years.  He  soon  became  distinguished  as  a  lawyer.  When 
the  arrangements  were  being  made  for  the  trial  of  those  ac 
cused  of  abducting  AVilliam  Morgan,  he  was  offered  the  po 
sition  of  special  counsel  to  assist  the  Attorney-General.  He 
declined  the  offer,  and  recommended  John  C.  Spencer,  who  ac 
cepted  and  acted  as  such  on  the  trials.  He  also,  in  1835,  de 
clined  the  office  of  circuit  judge,  tendered  him  by  Governor 
Marcy.  During  the  same  year  the  Legislature  appointed  him 
canal  commissioner,  which  he  declined.  When  the  Holland  Land 
Company,  in  1836,  sold  out  their  remaining  lands  in  five  coun 
ties,  he  was  appointed  agent  of  the  new  proprietors,  and  acted  as 
such  for  thirteen  years,  for  which  purpose  lie  removed  to  Batavia, 
where  he  now  resides. 

President  Pierce,  on  coming  into  office,  tendered  him  the  ap 
pointment  of  Naval  Officer  in  New  York,  which  he  accepted,  but 
was  soon  transferred  to  the  office  of  Collector,  which  he  held  un 
til  June  30, 1857,  when  he  resigned,  although  President  Buchanan 
offered  to  continue  him.  In  every  official  position  held  by  Mr. 
Redficld  he  gave  complete  satisfaction.  It  is  highly  creditable  to 
him,  that  when  he  rendered  his  accounts  as  Collector,  they  were 
found  correct  to  a  cent,  although  they  involved  the  large  sum  of 
$143,493,957,  and  were  promptly  settled,  exactly  as  he  rendered 
them.  He  is  now  a  cultivator  of  the  soil,  which  has  ever  been  a 
favorite  employment  with  him,  making  two  blades  of  grass  grow 
where  only  one  grew  before.  In  all  the  perils  to  which  our  coun 
try  has  been  exposed,  he  has  ever  been  on  the  side  of  his  own 
Government.  He  sustained  Mr.  Polk  through  the  Mexican  War, 
and  exerted  himself  on  the  side  of  the  Government  during  the 
late  war.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Peace  Congress  at  Albany, 
which  sent  delegates  to  the  one  at  Washington.  He  presided  at 
meetings  and  lent  his  influence  to  secure  the  quotas  of  men  called 
for  at  different  times  during  the  war,  and  contributed  largely  in 
raising  funds  to  aid  in  that  purpose.  Although  he  believed  the 
war  was  needlessly  brought  on  and  might  have  been  avoided,  and 
that  its  management  was  not  creditable  to  the  Administration, 
still,  the  life  of  his  country  was  involved,  and.  halting  was  wrong, 


CONGRESS   RESPONSIBLE,    ETC.  221 

if  not  criminal.    He  therefore  lent  his  best  energies  to  sustain  our 
side  of  the  conflict,  never  doubting  the  final  result. 

In  his  intercourse  with  men  he  is  frank  and  manly,  never  mis 
leading  any  one  concerning  his  views,  having  nothing  to  conceal. 
Those  who  know  him  best  love  him  most.  In  the  community 
whore  he  resides,  his  interests  harmonize  with  those  of  his  neigh 
bors.  Although,  lie  practises  economy,  he  is  not  greedy  for 
wealth,  either  on  its  own  account  or  for  the  distinction  it  often 
confers.  The  poor  are  not  turned  away  starving,  nor  the  orphan 
unprotected.  He  is  proud  of  being  a  life-long  Democrat.  He 
leavned  the  principles  when  young,  and  personally  fought,  to  sus 
tain  them,  in  the  War  of  1812,  when  Federalists  mourned  over 
oni-  victories,  because  defeats  would  be  more  likely  to  overthrow 
Miidison  and  bring  them  into  power.  He  is  opposed  to  all  class- 
legislation,  and  to  using  the  Government,  State  or  national,  as 
the  means  of  making  one  class  rich  and  keeping  another  poor. 
It  is  one  of  his  theories,  that  the  less  mankind  are  governed,  the 
be:ter  for  them.  He  believes  the  true  object  of  government  is  to 
protect  men  in  their  person,  character,  and  property,  and  then 
Icc.ve  them  to  work  out  their  own  happiness  in  their  own  way. 
There  can  be  no  common  standard  of  happiness,  as  men's  enjoy 
ments  differ  as  much  as  their  features.  Government  cannot  bring 
all  to  the  same  standard,  if  it  desired  to  do  so.  But  each  indi 
vidual  will  fix  his  own,  and  endeavor  to  arrive  at  it.  Mr.  Redfield 
Las  ever  believed  he  should  be  allo\ved  to  do  so. 

89.— CONGRESS    RESPONSIBLE    FOR  THE    EXTRAVAGANCE    OF 
THE   NATIONAL    GOVERNMENT, 

Abuses  in  Government  seem  to  be  self-multiplying  and  endur 
ing.  It  can  now  be  proved  in  a  court  of  justice  that  the  uncon 
stitutional  expenses  of  the  national  Government,  as  that  instru 
ment  was  construed  by  Jefferson,  Madison,  and  Jackson,  exceed 
the  whole  expenses  incurred  by  it  in  General  Jackson's  time  be 
fore  nullification  and  the  Indian  wars.  Now  the  "  deficiency  " 
bills  alone  usually  equal  the  whole  expenses  of  those  days.  The 
extent  of  these  expenditures  depends  upon  the  appropriations 
made  by  Congress.  •  It  is  the  Legislative  branch  that  determines 


222  DEMOCRACY  IN  THE   UNITED   STATES. 

for  what  purposes,  and  to  what  extent,  public  money  shall  be 
spent.  It  creates  the  offices,  fixes  the  compensation,  and  what 
shall  be  done  that  requires  money  to  do  it.  The  Executive  branch 
is  only  responsible  for  good  faith  and  reasonable  prudence  in 
executing  the  laws  as  it  finds  them  in  the  statute-book. 

We  will  refer  to  some  of  these  expenditures,  which  have  no 
warrant  in  the  Constitution,  that  our  readers  may  understand 
where,  how,  and  for  what  the  public  money  goes : 

1.  The  Freedmen's   Bureau  has  been   created  without  con 
stitutional  authority.     It  feeds,  clothes,  doctors,  transports  from 
place  to  place,  and  educates  and  makes  bargains  for  negroes  who 
are  claimed  to  be  citizens  of  the  United  States,  entitled  and  qualified 
to  vote  and  participate  in  the  affairs  of  the  State  and  national 
Government,  while  some  claim  that  they  are,  in  fact,  superior  to 
the  white  race.     In  other  words,  for  the  first  time  citizenship  is 
sought  to  be  based  upon  pauperism.     No  one  has  ever  doubted 
that   it  would  be  unconstitutional  to  do  these  things  for  white 
citizens.     The  purposes  for  which  taxes  may  be  imposed  do  not 
include  these  things,  or  any  of  a  similar  character.     The  Repub 
licans  seek  to  confer  on   these   negroes  the   right   of  suffrage, 
so    that    they   may   control    the    State    elections   where    they 
reside,  as  well  as  that  of  the  presidency.     If  they  are  competent 
to  do  this,  they  must  be  capable  of  feeding,  clothing,  doctoring, 
travelling  from  place  to  place,  and  of  paying  their  own  expenses 
and  making  bargains  for  themselves.     Both  assumptions  cannot 
be  true.     Either  the  negroes  are  capable  of  taking  care  of  them 
selves,  or  they  are  not  competent  to  vote  and  participate  in  politi 
cal  affairs.     This  bureau  swallows  up  from  twelve  to  fifteen  millions 
of  dollars  a  year,  and  indirectly  costs  considerably  more  than  a 
hundred  millions  a  year. 

2.  The  Reconstruction  Acts,  now  being  executed  by  officers  of 
the  army,  aided  by  many  thousands  of  soldiers,  are  undoubtedly 
unconstitutional,  and,  if  for  no  other  reason,  because  the  States 
already  exist  under  statutes  of  Congress  which  are  unrepealed,  and 
have  organized  governments  of  their  own,  of  whicli  Congress  has 
no  power  to  deprive  them.     Congress  has  no  more  authority  to 
interfere  with  the  affairs  of  these  States  than  they  have  in  those 


CONGRESS   RESPONSIBLE,    ETC.  223 

of  other  States.  If  they  had  the  power  to  do  so,  the  army  is  not 
needed  for  any  such  purpose.  Congress  is  authorized  to  raise  and 
support  armies,  but  only  for  the  purpose  of  common  defence — to 
repel  invasion,  and  to  quell  insurrection — but  not  to  participate 
in  the  management  of  civil  government.  No  army  was  ever 
engaged,  under  the  authority  of  Congress,  in  any  such  duty  before 
the  present  time.  These  military  men  have  spent  and  will  spend, 
in  the  performance  of  unconstitutional  duties,  immense  sums  of 
me>ney.  They,  in  fact,  are  destroying  that  Union  which  all  good 
men  so  much,  desire  to  save. 

3.  The  expenses  of  the  army  engaged  in  this  unauthorized 
Beivice,  in  one  form  and  another,  must  amount  to  more  than  the 
expenses  of  the  whole  national  Government  within  the  recollec 
tion  of  the  writer.     The  Government  has  no  power  to  keep  on 
foot  an  army  to  control  the  affairs  of  our  citizens,  and,  least  of  all, 
to  influence  political  affairs. 

4.  At  the  last  presidential  election  thousands  upon  thousands 
of  soldiers  and  officers  were  permitted  to  leave  the  army  and  re 
turn  home  to  vote,  but  scarcely  one  was  allowed  to  do  so  who 
was  not  known  or  understood  to  be  a  Eepublican.     Those  who 
W2re  Republicans  were  taken  home  in  immense  numbers  and 
brought  back  at  the  expense  of  the  Government,  through  the 
machinery  of  the  War  Department,  controlled  by  Mr.  Stanton. 
This  proceeding  not  only  endangered  our  armies,  and  produced 
discontent  with  those  "who  were  allowed  no  such  privilege,  but  it 
occasioned  an   enormous   expense.     President   Lincoln  and  his 
Cabinet  were  parties  to  this  illegal  proceeding,  contrived  and  car 
ried  out  to  secure  the  success  of  the  Republican  ticket. 

5.  The  large  sums  spent  in  establishing  and  putting  in  opera 
tion  the  nearly  two  thousand  national  banks  were  without  any 
v.-arrant  in  the  Constitution.     These  expenses,  direct  and  indirect, 
must  amount  to  over  two  millions  of  dollars,  and  will  be  followed 
by  large  annual  drains  upon  the  Treasury. 

6.  Formerly  the  Post-Office  Department  was  self-sustaining,  but 
now  calls  for  some  twenty  millions  to  keep  it  in  motion.     A  large 
portion  of  this  expense  is  occasioned  in  consequence  of  the  hun 
dreds  of  tons  of  printed  speeches  and  useless  documents  carried 


224  DEMOCKACY   IN   THE   UNITED    STATES. 

free  under  the  franks  of  members  of  Congress.  The  mail  lias 
frequently  carried,  free,  books  sometimes  bought  by  Congress,  as 
large  as  our  largest  Bibles,  and  often  put  up  in  light  pine  boxes 
to  protect  them.  This  abuse  of  the  mails  costs  millions  annually, 
and  is  not  authorized  under  the  power  "  To  establish  post-offices 
and  post-roads."  More  than  one-half  of  the  expenses  of  the  Post- 
Office  Department  are  occasioned  by  what  is  outside  of  its  legiti 
mate  duties. 

7.  Congress,  without  authority,  has  established  an  Agricultural 
Bureau,  which  is  worse  than  useless — for  neither  its  seeds,  infor 
mation,  nor  opinions  are  reliable — which  costs  an  immense  sum : 
first,  in  buying  and  distributing  seeds  almost  exclusively  to  officials 
and  favorites,  and  then  in  preparing,  printing,  and  distributing  use 
less  volumes.    Other  bureaus,  like  that  of  education,  statistics,  etc., 
will  prove  to  be  equally  useless  to  the  Government  and  the  people, 
because  they  cannot,  by  possibility,  be   reliable  and  safe  to   act 
upon.     All   these  things  have   high-sounding   names,    hold   out 
great  promises,  and  may  aid  some  in  electioneering,  but  will  prove 
worse  than  useless  in  legislation.     These  bureaus  have  no  author 
ity  in  the  Constitution. 

8.  The  millions  of  speeches  and  political  pamphlets  folded  at 
the  expense  of  the  Government  and  sent  through  the  mails,  at  a 
heavy  cost,  to  influence  the  elections,  occasion  a  very  heavy  out 
lay.     And  as  each  side  fires  about  the  same  quantity  of  these 
paper  bullets,  neither  gains  much  advantage  by  it,  while  the  Gov 
ernment  loses,  and  the  Washington  press  profits  by  a  patronage 
to  which  the  home  press  is  more  entitled.     These   expenses  are 
wholly  unauthorized  by  the  Constitution. 

9.  The  book  and  newspaper  business,  by  which  members  are 
supplied  with  volumes  of  books,  and  bound  and  unbound  news 
papers  for   home    consumption,  costs  the    Government   annually 
very  large  sums  of  money.     These  are  not  used  as  aids  in  legisla 
tion,  but  are  variously  disposed  of,  including  exchanging  for  law- 
books.     There  can  be  no  justification  for  these  expenses.     They 
are  unconstitutional. 

10.  The  published  accounts  show  an  immense  list  of  articles 
which  are  not  used  in  legislation,  and  cannot  be  lawfully  obtained 


CONGEESS  RESPONSIBLE,   ETC.  225 

by  nembcrs.  The  Senate  expenses  show  these  items,  such  as  "  cocoa 
mats,  damask  towels,  bathing-towels,  combs,  soap,  alcohol,  feather 
dusters,  sponges,  hair-brushes,  blank-books,  memorandum-books, 
card-cases,  pocket-books,  match-boxes,  taper-candlesticks,  matches, 
shears,  scissors,  corkscrews,  thermometers,  key-rings,  gold  pens 
and  cases,  tooth-picks,  diaries,  pin-cushions,  medicated  paper, 
chamois-skins,  cloth-brushes,  flesh-brushes,  fans,  kid  gloves,  yards 
of  silk,  washing-soda,  olive-oil,  bay  rum,  gum-camphor,  geranium- 
oil,  toilet-powder,  pomade,  razors,  clocks,  lemon-squeezers,  lem 
ons.,  sugar,  brass-bound  buckets,  bath-tubs,  curry-combs,  Tribune 
Ah.ianacs,  Cotton's  Atlas,"  etc.,  etc.  This  list  might  be  extend 
ed,  while  the  quantities  of  some  articles  are  very  large. 

11.  Travelling  committees  of  Congress,  wandering  about  the 
country  hunting  for  sin  committed  by  some  one,  have  cost, 
within  a  few  years,  millions  of  dollars,  including  the  printing  of 
their  reported  scandal,  all  of  which  have  in  view,  not  legislation, 
but  the  manufacture  of  political  capital  for  those  whose  prin 
ciples  and  conduct  have  furnished  so  little  to  be  safely  relied 
upon.  These  things  are  not  within  the  spirit  and  intention  of 
the  Constitution.  They  are  not  only  in  gross  violation  of  it,  but 
they  are  no  less  than  insulting  imputations  upon  the  people. 

The  House  has  not  permitted  the  Senate  to  outstrip  it  in 
ex  iravagancc.  The  Clerk  makes  and  publishes  his  account  con 
cerning  "  stationery  "  and  "  incidental  expenses  "  of  the  House. 
It  makes  a  volume  of  231  pages,  not  a  page  of  which  is  footed 
up  so  that  the  aggregate  of  these  expenses  can  be  ascertained 
without  many  days'  hard  labor.  There  is  more  "stationery" 
and  more  u  envelopes  "  mentioned  in  this  report  than  the  House 
could  legitimately  use  in  ten  years.  The  Government  pays 
for  "  gloves "  at  a  rate  that  will  allow  each  member  several 
pairs.  The  report  shows  1,039  inkstands,  2,726  penknives,  726 
gold  pens,  and  527  portemonnaies.  Under  the  head  of  station 
ery  arc  hair-brushes,  nail-brushes,  toilet-soap,  Martinique  snuff  by 
the  dozen  bottles,  corkscrews,  visiting-cards,  paper  collars,  and 
cuffs.  Under  the  same  head  are  charges  for  coffee-urns,  sauce 
pans,  broilers,  flour-sifters,  and  fish-kettles,  key-rings,  pocket- 
books,  scissors,  chamois-skins,  rubber-bands,  sponge-cups,  mo- 
10* 


226  DEMOCRACY   IN   THE    UNITED    STATES. 

rocco  desks,  New  York  City  Directory,  Colton's  Atlas,  map  of 
Washington,  Brightly1  s  Digest,  325  palm-leaf  fans,  diaries,  States 
man's  Year-Book  for  General  Banks,  six  sets  of  castors,  griddles, 
cullenders,  graters,  coffee-mill,  and  meat-forks.  The  list  of  objec 
tionable  and  illegal  items  could  be  greatly  extended.  But  we 
give  enough  to  show  that  wrong  exists  and  goes  unquestioned. 
Neither  House  will  inquire  into  these  abuses.  They  are  found 
too  profitable  to  be  inquired  into.  The  regular  committees  pay 
no  attention  to  these  abuses,  and  no  select  one  will  ever  be 
raised  to  show  up  the  perpetual  plundering  of  the  Government. 

12.  Committees  on  the  conduct  of  the  war  were  organized, 
travelled  about,  and  made  reports,  which  were  printed  in  eight 
large  volumes,  costing  a  large  sum.      The  object  of  these  com 
mittees  was  not  to  ascertain  the  number  of  men  required  for  the 
army,  and  the  means  necessary  to  carry  on  the  war,  but  to  in 
terfere  with  the  duties  of  the  Executive  and  control  his  action, 
and  to  accumulate  political  capital.      These  committees  contrib 
uted  far  more  to  prolong  the  war  than  to  aid  in  its  prosecution. 
They  were  mere  political  machines  run  by  the  Republicans  in 
Congress  to  aid  in  the  elections. 

13.  Various  committees  have    been    appointed  to  ascertain 
whether   certain  crimes  have   been,  committed,  and  by    whom, 
when  no  legislative  action  could  possibly  result  from  the  inquiry, 
thus  usurping  the  duties  of  the  judicial  establishment,  and  incur 
ring  needless  expenses.     These  committees  have  not  risen  above 
the  dignity  of  police  detectives.     They  have  been  little  more  than 
spies,  serving  as  the  organs  of  tattlers.      The  reports,  when  made 
and  printed,  are  of  no  use,  except  that  they  may   answer  party 
electioneering  purposes. 

14.  The  people  are  not  aware  that  the  Government  pays  for 
reporting  and  printing  the  proceedings  of  both  Houses  of  Con 
gress,  including  the  endless  and  useless  speeches — as  a  general 
thing — which  appear  in  the  reports  in  the   Globe  and  sometimes 
elsewhere.     They  even  order  the  printing  of  speeches  never  de 
livered  at  all.       These  things  cost  large  sums,  and  are  of  but  little 
use    except    to  those  who  report  and  print  them,  and  to  those 
whose  vanity  is  gratified  by  them.      The  proceedings  of  Congress 


CONGRESS   RESPONSIBLE,    ETC.  227 

tlif.t  are  read,  to  any  considerable  extent,  are  those  short,  pithy 
reports  made  for  distant  papers  and  sent  by  telegraph.  The 
enterprise  of  the  public  press  furnishes  all  that  is  important  to 
be  known,  and  their  competition  will  continue  to  do  so.  This 
reporting  and  printing  is  unauthorized  by  the  Constitution. 

15.  The  fancy  work  done  for  the  Government  occasions  much 
expense.     The  public  probably  are  not  aware  that  on  the  public 
grounds  at  Washington  there    is  a   somewhat   expensive   fancy 
building,  erected  at  public  expense,  for  the  purpose    of  photo 
graphing,    where    money     is   uselessly   and    unprofitably   spent. 
These  expenses  grow  mainly  out  of  the  vanity  of  those   engaged 
in  our  public  works.      Those  in  power   should    promptly  stop 
them. 

16.  The  people  are  not  aware  that  horses  and  carriages  are 
kept  and  used  by  some  of  the  heads  of  departments  and  bureaus, 
ar.d  especially  by  military  officers,  at  the  expense  of  the  Govern 
ment,  which  saves  them  the  expense  of  keeping   such  things  for 
tl  emselves,  or  hiring  hacks,  or  going  on  foot,  like   other  people. 
This,  though  not  a  very  expensive  abuse,  is  a  glaring  and  grow- 
ir.g  one. 

17.  Certain  heads  of  departments  keep  military  sentinels  at 
their   doors   and   vicinity.      Unless   it   is    an   important   object 
to  display  their  want  of  courage,  this  is  certainly  a  useless  ex 
pense,  and  should  be  discontinued.     Democrats  have  never  had 
occasion  for  such  guards. 

18.  Members  of  Congress  accumulate,  while  at  Washington, 
immense  quantities  of  books,  documents,  etc.,  which  they  desire 
sent  home.     These  are  now  boxed,  and  sent  off  at  the  expense  of 
the  Government,  if  it  does  not  pay  the  transportation,  which  is 
probable.     Where  the  authority  is  to  do  this,  no  one  can  tell. 

19.  Our  custom-house  establishments  cost  vastly  more  than  is 
necessary,  growing  mainly  out  of  paying  a  large  number  who 
really  render  no   service,  or  none  that  is  of  any  use  whatever. 
These  abuses  can  easily  be   corrected   by  the  collectors,   naval 
officers,    and   surveyors,  and  the    Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  by 
which  hundreds  of  thousands  of  dollars  can  be  saved  annually. 

20.  The  great  source  of  Government  expense  is  occasioned  by 


228  DEMOCRACY   IN   THE   UNITED    STATES. 

Congress  providing  and  requiring  the  use  of  a  currency  the 
common  depreciation  of  which  is  about  forty  per  cent.  This 
necessarily  increases  the  expenses  of  the  Government  at  a  cor 
responding  rate.  Nearly  all  salaries  have  been  largely  increased 
in  consequence  of  it,  including  the  pay  of  Congress,  which  has 
been  enlarged  from  three  to  five  thousand  dollars  per  annum. 
The  expenses  of  the  army  and  navy  have  been  increased  in  a  like 
ratio.  The  prices  of  labor  at  the  navy-yards,  on  public  build 
ings,  and  elsewhere,  have  increased  at  about  the  same  rate  with 
the  depreciation  of  the  currency.  But  Congress  takes  no  step 
toward  diminishing,  but  many  to  increase  this  evil.  At  least 
one-third,  if  not  more,  of  the  expenses  of  the  Federal  Government 
is  occasioned  by  using  depreciated  paper. 

We  might  extend  this  list  of  abuses  to  an  almost  indefinite 
extent,  but  these  instances  are  sufficient  to  put  thinking  men  on 
inquiry,  and  to  induce  reformers  to  act,  if  we  have  any  who  dare 
grapple  with  abuses  under  which  Government  is  reeling  and 
staggering. 

These  abuses  have  their  origin  in  anti-Democratic  principles, 
and  are  destructive  of  that  equality,  protection,  economy,  and 
purity,  which  form  a  part  of  the  Democratic  creed.  They  will 
continue  until  the  people  rise  in  their  majesty,  and  command 
and  enforce  reform. 

90.—  ADMINISTRATION  OF  JOHN  TYLER. 

The  administration  of  Mr.  Tyler  was  crowded  with  extraor 
dinary  events,  a  full  history  of  which  would  fill  a  large  volume. 
For  the  first  time,  a  Vice-President  had  become  President  under 
the  Constitution.  Harrison  had  been  sworn  in  as  President  on 
the  4th  of  March,  1841,  and  died  within  a  month,  during  which, 
under  the  promptings  of  Mr.  Clay,  he  had  issued  a  proclamation, 
convening  Congress  on  the  31st  of  May.  Although  Mr.  Tyler 
had  called  the  attention  of  Congress  to  the  various  subjects 
he  deemed  suitable  for  their  attention,  Mr.  Clay,  in  resolutions 
offered  in  the  Senate,  rather  imperiously  announced  what  ought 
to  be  attended  to.  A  repeal  of  the  Independent  Treasury,  the  in 
corporation  of  a  national  bank,  and  the  distribution  of  tho 


ADMINISTRATION    OF   JOHN   TYLEK.  229 

moneys  derived  from  the  sales  of  the  public  lands,  to  aid  the 
States  in  paying  their  debts,  were  the  leading  objects.  A  bank 
rupt  law  was  proposed  by  his  friends.  Both  Harrison  and  Tyler 
had  been  Democrats;  and,  in  1819,  had  taken  grounds  in  favor 
of  a  judicial  repeal  of  the  charter  of  the  United  States  Bank. 
But  both  had  become  Whigs,  and  were  expected  to  approve 
whatever  a  Whig  Congress  should  do.  Mr.  Tyler,  in  his  message, 
had  confirmed  this  expectation.  Bills  were  reported  for  repealing 
the  Independent  Treasury,  for  chartering  a  bank,  for  distributing 
the  proceeds  of  land-sales,  and  an  insolvent  law,  under  the  name 
of  a  Bankrupt  Act,  and  all  were  passed  by  Congress.  The  Bank 
Act  was  alone  vetoed  by  Mr.  Tyler,  who  objected  to  some  of  its 
provisions.  A  second  bill,  with  these  modified,  and  an  altered 
title,  was  passed ;  but  this  was  also  vetoed.  This  created  a  breach 
between  Mr.  Tyler  and  the  Whigs  who  had  elected  him.  A  third 
Bank  Bill  was  reported  by  Mr.  Cushiug  in  the  House,  but  was 
never  acted  upon.  From  this  time  until  1863,  when  Mr.  Chase 
was  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  a  period  of  twenty-two  years,  the 
bank  question  slept,  with  no  attempt  on  the  part  of  the  anti- 
Democrats  to  waken  it ;  Mr.  Webster  saying  it  was  an  "  obsolete 
i.dea."  The  approval  of  the  repeal  of  the  Independent  Treasury, 
and  the  Land  Distribution  Bill,  rendered  it  impossible  for  the 
Democrats  to  sustain  Mr.  Tyler  beyond  the  specific  acts  which 
they  approved.  A  tariff  bill,  fixing  the  rate  of  duties  at  twenty 
per  cent.,  and  regulating  the  free  list,  was  passed  and  approved. 
This  special  session  resulted  in  pleasing  neither  party.  The 
Whigs  had  carried  three  measures  —  the  repeal  of  the  Sub- 
Treasury,  and  passing  an  Insolvent  Law  and  Land  Distribution 
Bill;  and  the  Democrats  rejoiced  at  the  defeat  of  the  Bank  Bill. 
But  both  parties  had  their  complaints.  At  the  annual  session, 
commencing  in  December,  the  Bankrupt  Law  and  the  Distribu 
tion  Act  were  repealed  by  the  Congress  that  enacted  them  ;  and 
in  1846,  the  Independent  Treasury  Act  was  reenactcd,  and  still 
remains,  though  somewhat  damaged  by  Mr.  Chase's  National 
Bank  Law,  authorizing  the  using  the  banks  established  under  it 
as  Treasury  depositories. 

At  the  annual  session  Congress  was  informed  of  the  deplorable 


230  DEMOCRACY   IX    THE    UNITED   STATES. 

condition  of  our  finances,  we  having  neither  money  nor  credit, 
and  debts  were  heavily  pressing  upon  us.  The  remedy  was  plain 
to  those  whose  sight  was  not  bewildered  by  collateral  objects.  A 
tariff  increasing  the  rate  of  duties  and  the  restoration  of  the  land 
moneys  to  the  Treasury  would  soon  produce  the  desired  relief.  A 
Tariff  Bill  raising  the  duties  above  twenty  per  cent,  and  continuing 
the  land  distribution  after  a  certain  day  was  passed  and  vetoed  by 
the  President,  on  the  ground  that  it  violated  the  Compromise  Act 
of  1833,  and  continued  the  land  distribution.  A  second  bill,  some 
what  modified  and  changed — more  in  words  than  in  principle — 
was  passed  and  also  vetoed.  By  the  terms  of  the  Land  Distribu 
tion  Act,  the  distribution  was  to  cease  whenever  duties  above 
twenty  per  cent,  were  levied.  A  third  Tariff  Act,  raising  du 
ties  above  twenty  per  cent.,  and  saying  nothing  about  distri 
bution,  but  in  effect  killing  it,  was  passed  and  approved  by  Mr. 
Tyler.  In  this  controversy,  Mr.  Tyler  was  struggling  to  pre 
serve  his  consistency  in  regard  to  the  Compromise  Act,  and  the 
Whigs  to  do  the  same  to  save  their  distribution  measure.  Sur 
rounding  circumstances  and  the  condition  of  the  Treasury  com 
pelled  both  to  yield.  This  last  Act  was  carried  by  the  aid  of 
Silas  Wright  and  a  few  other  Democrats,  who,  although  the  rate 
of  duties  was  unsatisfactory,  saw  in  the  bill  the  destruction  of  the 
land  distribution,  and  felt  it  a  duty  to  supply  the  Government 
with  the  means  necessary  for  its  existence. 

It  has  been  charged  that  Mr.  Tyler  saw  that  Mr.  Clay  would 
be  nominated  as  his  successor,  and  felt  stung  by  his  overbearing 
and  dictatorial  course,  and  he  therefore  sought,  by  his  peculiar 
course,  to  build  up  a  separate  party  for  himself,  hoping  to  be  made 
his  own  successor.  The  evidence  in  favor  of  this  theory  satisfied 
Colonel  Benton  of  its  truth,  as  he  states  in  his  "  Thirty  Years  in 
the  Senate."  If  he  entertained  such  views,  he  was  disappointed 
in  the  result.  His  course  was  such  as  fully  to  satisfy  neither 
party,  and  as  there  can  be  but  two  sides  to  any  question,  there 
was  no  ground  for  a  third  party  to  organize  or  stand  upon,  and 
hence  he  was  disappointed  if  he  expected  to  build  up  one.  In 
stead  of  rising  politically,  Mr.  Tyler  sank  down,  and  had  few  sup 
porters  in  Congress  and  fewer  elsewhere,  except  those  in  office. 


JAMES    K.    POLK.  231 

Ii'  he  had  remained  with  the  Whig  party,  he  would  have  suffered 
much  mortification  at  the  domineering  spirit  of  some  of  his  friends, 
and  been  forced  into  subordinate  relations.  Had  he  joined  the 
Democrats,  after  approving  the  land  distribution  and  the  repeal  of 
t.ie  Independent  Treasury,  he  never  could  have  commanded  their 
inspect  and  confidence.  It  was  fortunate  for  that  party  that  he  did 
rot  return  to  it.  They  could  not  rise  under  the  weight  of  his 
inconsistencies. 

Personally,  Mr.  Tyler  possessed  many  good  qualities.  He  was 
benevolent,  kind,  and  warm-hearted,  and  without  greediness  for 
money,  or  a  disposition  to  trench  upon  the  rights  of  others.  He 
possessed  some  qualities  that  unfitted  him  for  the  presidency.  He 
was  careless,  indolent,  easily  persuaded  to  any  thing,  where  old 
Virginia  doctrines  did  not  point  out  the  contrary  way.  He  was 
:iot  prompt  nor  firm  like  those  governed  by  inflexible  principles. 
If  Virginia  had  fully  settled  the  question,  he  was  ready  to  conform 
to  it,  but  even  then  he  was  not  always  firm  and  immovable, 
but  often  drifted.  On  other  questions  he  was  apt  to  follow  the 
course  of  an  easy  mind.  The  natural  promptings  of  his  mind  were 
such  as  mankind  could  approve.  The  errors  came  in  when  he  at 
tempted  to  control  his  natural  impulses  and  yield  to  those  of  self 
ish  calculation.  The  attempt  to  limit  him  in  the  enjoyment  of 
privileges  which  had  been  permitted  all  other  Presidents  has  left 
more  salutary  enactments  on  the  statute-book  than  were  made  in 
the  same  length  of  time  since  the  repeal  of  the  Alien  and  Sedition 
Laws.  Mr.  Tyler  was  born  March  29,  1790,  and  died  January 
17,  1862.  He  went  with  the  secessionists,  and  was  a  secession 
member  of  Congress  when  he  died,  showing  that  he  had  outlived 
all  the  Democracy  he  ever  had. 

91.  — JAMES    K.    POLK,   HIS    ELECTION    AND    POLITICAL    PRIN 
CIPLES. 

The  late  civil  war  has  prevented  the  preparation,  by  an  emi 
nent  biographer  in  New  York,  of  a  complete  work  on  the  Life 
and  Times  of  Mr.  Polk,  which  his  sudden  death  prevented  his 
preparing.  Born  and  educated  in  North  Carolina,  he  early  became 
an  adopted  son  of  Tennessee,  reading  law  with  Felix  Grundy. 


232  DEMOCEACY    IN   THE   UNITED    STATES. 

He  commenced  practice  in  1820,  was  elected  to  the  State  Legis 
lature  in  1823,  and  to  Congress  in  1825,  where  lie  continued 
fourteen  years,  and  from  1835  to  1839  was  Speaker  of  the  House, 
and  was  in  1839  elected  Governor  of  Tennessee,  and  in  1844 
President  of  the  United  States,  from  which  office  he  retired  on 
the  4th  of  March,  1849. 

A  majority  of  the  Baltimore  Convention  of  1844  were  in 
favor  of  nominating  Mr.  Van  Buren,  but  the  adoption  of  a  rule 
requiring  two-thirds  of  all  the  votes  to  make  a  nomination  caused 
his  defeat,  he  not  favoring  the  acquisition  of  Texas  in  the  manner 
and  for  the  purpose  of  extending  slavery,  as  insisted  upon  by  Mr. 
Calhoun.  Mr.  Polk  was  thereupon  nominated  and  elected.  He 
had  always  been  an  ardent  Democrat,  and  approved  the  Baltimore 
resolutions  of  1840.  He  became  distinguished  as  a  debater  and 
well-informed  statesman,  in  his  opposition  to  Mr.  Adams's  adminis 
tration,  and  was  the  leader  in  the  House  during  General  Jackson's 
administration.  He  was  elected  Speaker  in  December,  1835,  and 
again  in  1837,  in  which  position  he  distinguished  himself  for  in 
telligence,  impartiality,  and  firmness.  His  discussions  were  dis 
tinguished  for  their  clearness  and  logical  force,  and  for  an  earnest 
sincerity  which  tended  to  carry  conviction.  His  industry  knew 
no  bounds,  and  his  devotion  to  his  duties  was  not  excelled  by 
any  of  his  contemporaries.  He  enjoyed  the  unlimited  confidence 
of  General  Jackson  and  the  entire  Democratic  party.  He  mani 
fested  great  sincerity  and  cordiality  of  manners  among  his  politi 
cal  friends,  without  being  rude  or  even  cold  toward  his  adversa 
ries.  His  incorruptibility  was  proverbial,  and  even  his  enemies 
never  questioned  his  truthfulness  or  integrity.  His  construction 
of  the  Constitution  was  of  the  strictest  kind.  He  designed  to 
keep  within  its  unquestioned  powers,  and  to  restrain  others  within 
the  same  boundaries.  He  was  kind-hearted,  liberal,  and  generous 
with  his  own  means  for  all  approved  objects,  but  nothing  could 
induce  him  to  adopt  latitudinarian  constructions  and  under  them 
indulge  liberality  and  generosity  with  the  people's  money.  He 
sought  to  be  right,  and  when  he  believed  he  was  so,  nothing 
could  turn  him.  He  believed  our  Government  was  framed  to  pro 
tect  men  and  their  property,  to  the  end  that  they  might  seek 


233 

happiness  in  their  own  way,  and  that  no  man  or  class  of  men  had 
any  right  to  use  the  Government  to  promote  their  own  interests 
or  selfish  purposes.  The  principles  of  democracy  lay  in  his  heart, 
next  to  those  of  his  religion,  and  he  deemed  both  sacred,  and 
tending  to  promote  the  true  happiness  of  mankind.  His  admin 
istration  was  complimented  by  Mr.  "Webster. 

92.— MR.  FOLK'S  ADMINISTRATION. 

Many  important  events  occurred  while  Mr.  Polk  was  Presi 
dent,  some  of  which  will  be  mentioned. 

1.  THE  MEXICAN  AVAR. — Texas  was  admitted  as  a  State  of 
the   Union  under   legislative   authority   near   the    close   of   Mr. 
Tyler's  administration,  before  Mexico  had  ceased  claiming  her. 
YA\  Van  Buren,  Silas  Wright,  and  others  had  expressed  their  fears 
that  such  admission  would  bring  war  with  it,  as  it  would  be,  in 
c  feet,  espousing  the  cause  of  Texas  and  taking  her  quarrel  off  her 
hands.     We  then  had  a  treaty  of  peace  and  amity  with  Mexico. 
These  distinguished  statesmen  doubted  the  propriety  of  admitting 
Texas,  without  the  assent  of  Mexico,  while  she  continued  her  claim 
and  proposed  still  to  enforce  it.     Texas  claimed  southwest  to  the 
liio  Grande.     After  the  admission,  General  Taylor  was  sent  down 
with  a  force  to  protect  this  boundary.     The  Mexicans  came  over 
to  drive  him  away,  and  were   defeated  in  two  battles  and  driven 
back.     The  war  thus  commenced  was  prosecuted  by  direction  of 
Congress.     The  city  of   Mexico  was  taken,  and  California  and 
Xew  Mexico  yielded  to  our  power.     The  war  ended  in  a  treaty, 
iixing  our  boundaries,  in  which  she  ceded  to  us  New  Mexico  and 
California,  we  paying  fifteen  millions  of  dollars. 

2.  THE  OREGON  QUESTION. — The  Oregon  country,  first  explored 
by  Lewis  and  Clark,  by  direction  of  Mr.  Jefferson,  and  whose 
principal  river  was  entered  by  Captain  Gray,  of  Boston,  had  so 
much  increased  in  value,  that  its  exact  boundaries  became  a  sub 
ject  of  interest.     We  claimed  north  to  54°  40',  and  the  British 
claimed  many  degrees  farther  south.     In  this  controversy  James 
Buchanan,  then    Secretary    of    State,  displayed    his   wonderful 
industry  in   making   researches,    and    remarkable  clearness  and 
force  in  presenting  the  facts  and  arguments  on  our  side.     His 


234  DEMOCRACY   IN   THE   UNITED    STATES. 

vindication  of  our  rights  seemed  unanswerable,  but  the  Senate, 
whose  advice  Mr.  Polk  took  in  advance  on  the  question,  advised 
him  to  accept  the  line  of  49°,  and  a  treaty  was  concluded  accord 
ingly,  much  to  the  regret  of  very  many  of  our  people.  Colonel 
Benton  insisted  that  our  claim  did  not  properly  extend  beyond 
that  parallel  of  latitude,  and  his  views  were  adopted  and  carried 
out. 

3.  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  GOLD  AND  ITS  CONSEQUENCES. — In  exam 
ining  the  beds  of  streams  near  Captain  Sntter's  establishment  in 
California,  particles  of  gold  were  found.     Further  search  led  to  the 
discovery  of  considerable  quantities,  but  in  small  particles.  But  ere 
long,  in  the  latter  part  of  the  year  1848,  very  considerable  specimens 
were  found.     A  full  knowledge  of  these  discoveries  was  unknown 
in  the  Atlantic  States  prior  to  Mr.  Folk's  annual  message  in  De 
cember  of  that  year.    This  directed  attention  of  miners  to  Califor- 
nia>     More  gold  and  more  gold  was  discovered.     California  was 
soon  admitted  as  a  State,  supplying  many  millions  of  gold  annually. 
She  has  now  become  one  of  our   most  flourishing   agricultural 
States. 

4.  CONGRESSIONAL  LEGISLATION. — During  Mr.  Folk's  admin 
istration,  the  Independent  Treasury  was  restored,  and  so  was  hard 
money.     From  the  time  the  Sub-Treasury  Act  of  1840  was  re 
pealed  in  1841,  the  Executive  kept  the  public  money  where  and 
in  such  manner  as  he  chose.      It  was  now  made  criminal  to  keep 
it  anywhere  but  in  the  Treasury,  or  with  an   assistant  treasurer. 
This  Act  passed  in  1846. 

The  protective  tariff  of  1842  gave  place  to  a  revenue  tariff'  of 
184G,  many  of  the  principles  of  which  still  remain  in  our  tariff' 
laws. 

The  Department  of  the  Interior  was  created  in  1849,  just  be 
fore  the  close  of  Mr.  Folk's  term. 

The  warehouse  system  was  modified  and  placed  upon  a  new 
footing,  and  drawback  allowed  on  goods  imported  from  Canada. 
The  Smithsonian  Institution  was  organized. 

An  Act  in  relation  to  the  weight  of  gold  coins,  and  authoriz 
ing  the  coinage  of  double  eagles  and  gold  dollars,  was  passed  by 
Congress,  and  approved  by  Mr.  Folk  on  the  last  day  he  was  in 


ZACIIAEY   TAYLOR   AND   HIS    ADMINISTRATION.  235 

office.  This  was  one  of  the  most  important  Acts  passed  while 
he  was  President,  as  it  tended  to  restore  the  use  of  a  gold  cur 
rency. 

Mr.  Folk's  administration  accomplished  much.  It  settled 
our  dispute  with  Great  Britain,  fixed  our  northern  boundary  on 
the  Pacific,  secured  New  Mexico  and  California,  and  put  at  rest 
the  British  claim  to  Oregon  and  Washington.  These  events 
hr.ve  led  to  searches  for  the  precious  metals  from  the  Pacific 
al  most  to  the  Mississippi.  These  have  been  found  in  the  whole 
Rocky  Mountain  region,  which  are  being  filled  with  an  active 
and  energetic  population.  Roads  are  opened  in  every  direction 
throughout  all  these  vast  regions,  and  railroads  are  now  being  ex 
tended  from  the  Mississippi,  through  the  Rocky  Mountains,  to  the 
Pacific  settlements ;  roads,  cities,  States,  and  Territories  have 
sprung  into  existence  as  if  by  magic.  These  are  some  of  the  con 
sequences  of  the  Mexican  War,  and  the  fruits  of  Mr.  Polk's  ad 
ministration.  But  for  his  administration,  all  these  States  and 
Territories  might  have  remained  a  trackless  wilderness,  save  a 
Mexican  settlement  at  Santa  Fe,  and  a  few  weak  missionary  and 
military  posts  in  California.  Consequences  have  resulted  from 
Mr.  Polk's  administration  far  more  important  than  he,  in  his 
nost  sanguine  moments,  anticipated.  The  Louisiana  and  Mexi 
can  purchases  have  added  unlimited  wealth  and  advantages  to 
our  country.  Taken  together,  they  have  realized  what  the  old 
Federalists  used  to  call  "Jefferson's  day-dreams."  All  that  he  an 
ticipated  has  been  more  than  realized.  Let  us  give  Mr.  Polk  his 
j-liare  of  the  credit. 

93.— ZACIIAKY  TAYLOR  AND  HIS  ADMINISTRATION. 

General  Taylor  was  born  in  Virginia,  in  1784,  and  died  at 
Washington,  July  9,  1850.  lie  entered  the  army  in  1808,  and 
rose  by  regular  gradations  to  be  a  major-general.  lie  was  dis 
tinguished  through  life  as  an  honest  and  worthy  man.  His  suc 
cessful  battles  at  Palo  Alto,  Resaca  de  la  Palma,  Monterey,  and 
Buena  Vista,  gave  him  so  much  public  favor  that  the  Whigs 
nominated  him  for  President,  and  elected  him  in  1848,  over  Gen 
eral  Lewis  Cass,  the  regular  Democratic  candidate.  Millard  Fill- 


236  DEMOCRACY   IN   THE   UNITED  STATES. 

more,  of  New  York,  was  elected  on  the  same  ticket  with  him  as 
Vice-President.  In  forming  his  Cabinet,  General  Taylor  selected 
Whigs  (although  he  had  claimed  to  be  a  no-party  man),  some  of 
whom  were  able  and  experienced,  and  some  far  otherwise.  He 
was  pledged  against  removals  from  office  on  political  grounds,  and 
to  remove  none  without  a  hearing.  In  the  first  month  he  was  in 
office,  he  refused  to  make  a  vacancy,  except  on  charges,  for  a 
friend  of  the  Vice-President,  and  on  the  latter's  application. 
Only  a  few  months  elapsed  before  removals  on  political  grounds 
were  of  daily  occurrence,  and  apparently  without  consultation 
with  him.  He  knew  his  want  of  qualifications  for  civil  office — 
often  spoke  of  it  to  the  writer,  and  expressed  his  regret  that  he 
ever  consented  to  run  for  the  presidency — saying  that  Mr.  Clay 
ought  to  have  been  in  his  place.  He  was  a  confiding  man,  and 
freely  trusted  his  friends.  He  had  never  seen  one  of  his  Cabinet 
before  the  time  of  their  appointment — so  he  said,  and  often  felt 
the  want  of  old  tried  friends  about  him,  although  he  had  full  con 
fidence  in  the  ability  and  integrity  of  his  Cabinet.  His  want  of 
knowledge  in  the  affairs  of  civil  government,  and  his  inaptitude 
in  learning  them,  greatly  embarrassed  him,  and  instead  of  being  a 
Taylor  administration,  it  was  soon  a  Cabinet-officer  affair,  in  part 
very  able,  and  continued  so  until  his  death,  sixteen  months  after 
he  was  sworn  into  office. 

A  defect  in  his  speech  greatly  embarrassed  him  on  many  occa 
sions.  But  his  sincerity  and  sterling  honesty  rendered  him  a  fa 
vorite  with  those  who  knew  him  intimately.  He  delivered  but 
one  message,  and  in  that  he  came  out  firmly  against  disunion. 
Whether  he  did  right  or  wrong,  he  meant  right,  but  in  political 
matters  he  was  so  unskilled  that  he  did  not  readily  comprehend 
their  meaning,  or  the  results  that  would  naturally  flow  from  them. 
He  was  a  Whig,  and  had  full  faith  in  the  Whig  leaders,  but  the  con 
sequences  to  result  from  the  practical  application  of  their  princi 
ples  to  the  business  and  affairs  of  the  world  he  did  not  under 
stand.  From  habit,  he  had  taken  whatever  the  Whig  leaders 
said  as  literally  true.  He  trusted  their  judgment  without  being 
at  the  trouble  of  exercising  his  own.  He  believed  the  Democrats 
were  wrong,  because  those  in  whom  he  confided  said  so,  and  not 


MILLAKD   FILLMOEE   AND   HIS    ADMINISTRATION.          237 

because  of  any  personal  knowledge  or  scrutiny  by  him.  He 
trusted  others,  as  others  trusted  him  in  military  affairs  which  he 
understood.  His  natural  impulses  were  in  the  direction  of  equal 
rights  of  mankind,  but  his  confidence  in  others  led  him  to  ignore 
su3h  ideas  in  practice,  and  he  went  with  those  who  believe  in 
ckss  legislation,  which  confers  advantages  on  one  class  by  taking 
them  from  another.  This  made  him  an  anti-Democrat  in  practice. 
Of  himself,  he  had  no  policy  to  propose  or  carry  out.  He  re 
ceived  impressions  from  others,  but  impressed  no  one  in  return. 
His  administration  terminated  so  soon  after  its  commencement, 
aid  contained  so  little  that  has  passed  into  history,  that  not 
much  can  be  said  for  or  against  it.  But  of  him  it  can  be  said 
that  he  was  a  good  man,  with  honest  intentions.  As  a  military 
man  he  had  done  good  service,  and  practised  rational  economy. 
He  rendered  the  same  service  for  half  the  expense  that  some 
others  occasioned  Government.  President  Polk  often  said  this  to 
the  writer. 

94.— MILLARD  FILLMORE  AND  HIS  ADMINISTRATION. 

Mr.  Fillmorc  was  born  in  Cayuga  County,  JST.  Y.,  on  the  7th 
of  January,  1800.  He  received  very  little  education  during  his 
minority,  but  learned  the  occupation  of  a  clothier.  At  the  age 
of  nineteen  he  resolved  to  become  a  lawyer.  His  abilities,  energy, 
and  industry,  were  equal  to  the  undertaking.  Having  devoted 
lus  leisure  to  the  acquirement  of  an  education,  he  became  quali 
fied,  and  taught  school  days,  and  read  law  mornings  and  even 
ings.  His  mind  was  well-balanced,  and  his  careful  and  accurate 
study  soon  made  him  a  good  lawyer,  and,  when  admitted,  busi 
ness  soon  came  to  him.  He  was  not  remarkably  quick,  but  in 
dustrious  and  thoughtful,  and  he  prepared  his  cases  with  great 
care  and  judgment.  He  never  omitted  any  thing  that  ought  to 
be  done.  His  thorough  preparations  enabled  him  to  discover  the 
strong  and  weak  points  of  his  adversary.  The  whole  case  on 
both  sides  was  committed  to  paper  before  he  went  into  court, 
which  made  trials  comparatively  easy.  In  these  preparations  lay 
the  secret  of  his  success.  It  would  be  fortunate  for  clients  and 
useful  to  many  lawyers  if  they  would  follow  Mr.  Fillmore  in  pre- 


238  DEMOCRACY   IN   THE   UNTIED    STATES. 

paring  their  causes,  which  would  greatly  lessen  the  labors  of  courts 
and  juries. 

In  1828,  soon  after  his  admission  as  an  attorney,  he  was 
elected  a  member  of  the  Assembly  by  the  anti-Masons,  and  was 
twice  reflected.  In  1832  he  was  elected  to  Congress  as  an  anti- 
Jackson  man,  and  served  one  term.  After  an  interval  of  two 
years  he  was  again  elected,  and  twice  reflected.  In  Congress  his 
talents,  industry,  and  business  capacity  led  to  his  occupying  the 
highest  places  on  committees.  The  reputation  he  won  during  his 
service  in  Congress  led  to  his  nomination  and  election  as  Vice- 
President.  On  the  death  of  General  Taylor  he  succeeded  to  the 
presidency. 

Soon  after  becoming  President,  Mr.  Fillmore  formed  a  new 
Cabinet,  all  Whigs.  Few  great  events  occurred  during  his  ad 
ministration.  But  the  seeds  of  disunion  previously  sown  began 
to  germinate,  and  they  have  since  grown  and  produced  fruit  as 
deadly  and  fatal  as  the  fabled  upas-tree.  These  seeds  were  first 
sown  on  the  purchase  and  on  the  admission  of  Louisiana  and 
Missouri,  in  the  movements  of  the  abolitionists  and  imllifiers,  in 
the  proceedings  in  Congress  concerning  our  Mexican  acquisi 
tions,  and  on  the  question  of  the  extension  of  the  Missouri 
Compromise.  These  matters  became  the  subject  of  much  feel 
ing  with  a  very  considerable  portion  of  the  people,  both  North 
and  South.  The  Free-Soil  party  sprang  from  them,  and 
weakened  and  often  dissevered  party  ties.  Abolition  and  seces 
sion  fed  upon  these  difficulties,  while  the  patriot  mourned  over 
them.  Attempts  were  made  in  Congress  to  remedy  existing  diffi 
culties.  This  produced  a  series  of  measures  in  1850,  called  the 
Compromise.  These  consisted  of  acts  concerning  Texas  and  the 
organization  of  the  Territory  of  New  Mexico,  the  admission  of 
California,  establishing  a  territorial  government  in  Utah,  and  to 
suppress  the  slave-trade  in  the  District  of  Columbia,  and  the  Fugi 
tive-Slave  Act.  The  latter  Act  was  exceedingly  distasteful  to  the 
abolitionists  of  the  North,  and  the  others  contained  provisions 
which  were  strongly  objected  to  by  the  South.  Each  of  these 
measures  received  the  approval  of  Mr.  Fillmore.  Hopeful  men 
believed  that  they  constituted  a  lasting  compromise,  and  that  the 


MILLABD   FILLMOEE   AND   HIS    ADMHSTISTEATIOX.          239 

slavery  agitation  was  finally  ended.  This  hope  proved  a  delu 
sion.  The  severity  of  the  Fugitive-Slave  Law,  intentionally  made 
worse  by  Southern  manipulation  to  prevent  its  passing  at  all, 
prDvoked  the  abolitionists  to  renewed  and  greater  exertions  to 
arouse  the  public  mind  against  slavery,  and  many  States  passed 
laws  intended  to  cripple  and  defeat  its  execution.  The  South  was 
net  behind  in  the  effort  to  arouse  the  public  mind  and  prepare  it 
for  a  conflict.  The  Kansas  troubles  followed,  and  the  whole  ended 
in  the  recent  civil  war  and  in  the  practical  destruction  of  the 
Union,  with  a  majority  in  both  Houses  of  Congress  claiming  that 
tea  States  have  been  reduced  to  conquered  colonies  for  which  they 
are  enacting  laws  to  be  enforced  by  the  military  with  the  bayonet. 

We  cannot  affirm  that  Mr.  Fillmore  is  responsible  for  any  of 
tl:e  consequences  which  have  flowed  from  these  small  beginnings, 
and  clearly  not  if  he  had  anticipated  their  magnitude.  But  the 
Whig  party,  of  which  he  was  the  ostensible  head,  are  unquestion 
ably  responsible.  At  the  North  they  encouraged,  courted,  and 
fraternized  with  the  abolitionists,  and  finally  amalgamated  with 
and  were  absorbed  by  them.  From  pure  white,  they  became 
shaded,  and  grew  darker  and  darker,  until  they  became  of  the 
abolition  hue,  and  were  found  worshipping  at  the  African  shrine. 
At  the  South,  the  Whig  party,  first  warmed  at  the  secession  fires, 
became  more  and  more  heated,  then  became  friendly  to  secession, 
then  loved,  and  then  adored  it,  and  finally  exploded  with  it. 
There  were  noble  exceptions  both  North  and  South,  showing  that, 
iu  the  straggle  for  party  ascendency,  some  have  soared  above  the 
common  motive,  and  entitled  themselves  to  the  appellation  of 
constitutional  patriots.  But  their  numbers  are  limited. 

Had  the  leaders  of  the  Whig  party  continued  their  fidelity  to 
the  principles  of  that  party  and  confined  themselves  to  its  usages, 
secession  would  never  have  arisen,  nor  the  country  been  involved  in 
civil  war.  There  was  scarcely 'a  spot  North  where  abolition  by 
itself  could  carry  an  election  for  any  thing,  or  in  the  South  where 
a  candidate  ran  as  a  secessionist.  The  contests  were  between 
Democrats  and  Whigs,  and  their  common  enemies  seldom  fought 
in  their  own  name.  Democratic  principles  were  generally  the 
most  popular  and  best  received,  resulting  in  success  a  large  por- 


240  DEMOCEACY  IN  THE   UNITED   STATES. 

tion  of  the  time.  Under  these  circumstances  the  Whig  leaders 
became  restive,  and  impatient  for  success.  This  could  only  be 
secured  by  bringing  their  party  and  the  abolitionists  at  the  North 
and  secessionists  at  the  South  together  as  one  party.  The  aboli 
tionists  and  secessionists  would  not  consent  to  be  wiped — blotted 
— out,  and  hence  the  Whigs  must  abandon  their  organization  and 
come  to  them.  This  was  done,  and  the  consequences  are  upon 
the  country.  The  calamitous  state  of  things  which  all  good  men 
deplore  is  the  natural  result  of  a  want  of  fidelity  to  its  principles 
by  the  Whig  party.  Probably  no  one  more  sincerely  regrets  the 
present  state  of  things  than  Mr.  Fillmore,  who  is  undoubtedly 
truly  patriotic  and  loves  the  Union,  and  feels  for  those  who  com 
pose  it.  If  any  fault  attaches  to  him,  it  is  in  not  sufficiently  re 
sisting  the  effort  of  bad  men  to  control  the  Whig  party.  He  can 
hardly  have  forgotten  that  he  was  victimized  and  deprived  of  a 
nomination  for  the  presidency  in  1852  by  this  class  of  unprin 
cipled  men,  one  of  whom  was  the  most  active  in  killing  oft'  the 
AVhig  party,  and  now  stands  next  the  throne  faithful  to  nothing 
but  his  devotion  to  self-interest. 

In  person,  manners,  and  conversation,  Mr.  Fillmore  is  pleasing 
and  amiable.  In  all  he  says,  there  is  a  vein  of  truthful  sincerity 
which  insures  confidence.  He  is  kind-hearted  and  generous,  and 
most  firm  in  the  performance  of  what  he  believes  to  be  his  duty. 
He  is  in  very  easy  circumstances,  but  he  practises  an  exemplary 
economy.  He  dispenses  a  cheerful  and  generous  hospitality,  de 
voting  much  time  to  reading  and  study.  At  the  age  of  sixty- 
eight  he  enjoys  robust  health,  in  the  good  city  of  Buffalo.  We 
understand  that  he  openly  repudiates  Republicanism,  and  joined 
with  the  Democrats  in  defence  of  the  Constitution  and  in  putting 
down  those  who  arc  trampling  it  under  foot — a  glorious  work 
for  his  ripe  old  age. 

95.— JOHN  BROWN  AT  HARPER'S  FERRY. 

In  former  times,  when  words  were  used  to  communicate  the 
thoughts  of  men,  a  martyr  was  a  person  who  suffered  death  or 
persecution  on  account  of  his  belief;  and  a  murderer  was  one 
who  deliberately  and  intentionally  took  the  life  of  a  human  being 


241 

without  the  authority  of  law.  These  definitions  have  never 
changed,  and  will  serve  to  characterize  the  acts  of  John  Brown 
whi2h  we  give.  He  was  a  native  of  Connecticut,  once  a  resident 
of  Xew  York,  and  in  1859  a  citizen  of  Kansas,  where  he  had 
bee  i  an  abolition  partisan  leader,  and  where  grave  crimes  were  im 
puted  to  him.  He  resolved  to  exterminate  slavery  in  the  South, 
vainly  expecting  that  the  whole  slave  population  would  rise  at  his 
call,  and  accomplish  his  cherished  objects.  In  1858  he  and  his 
followers  held  a  secret  meeting  in  Canada,  and  formed  a  constitu 
tion,  when  he  was  appointed  commander-in-chief,  and  Kagi 
secretary  of  war.  Under  this  British-made  constitution  military 
cor  i  missions  were  issued  by  Brown.  On  the  16th  of  October, 
1859,  Brown,  with  twenty-two  followers,  seized  the  Government 
armory-buildings  at  Harper's  Ferry,  with  twenty  or  thirty  officers 
and  workmen,  together  with  some  of  the  principal  inhabitants  of 
the  village  and  neighborhood,  all  of  whom  they  made  prisoners. 
Tli3iiext  morning  they  killed  a  negro  porter  at  the  railroad  for 
ref  ising  to  join  them.  Mr.  Boerly,  who  attempted  to  defend 
hinself  against  the  assailants,  was  shot  dead.  Captain  George 
Turner  and  Mr.  Fontaine  Beckham,  the  mayor,  were  also  shot 
dead.  Of  a  military  company  who  came  to  protect  the  town,  four 
were  killed,  and  a  fifth  made  prisoner.  Brown  and  his  men  re 
tired  into  the  engine-house.  When  the  railroad  men  attempted 
to  take  this  building,  seven  of  their  number  were  wounded,  and 
two  of  Brown's  were  killed.  On  the  arrival  of  Colonel  Robert  E. 
Lee  from  Washington,  with  two  pieces  of  artillery  and  one  hun 
dred  marines,  he  demanded  a  surrender,  which  Brown  refused, 
except  upon  condition  of  being  allowed  to  cross  the  Potomac 
un pursued,  to  which  Colonel  Lee  would  not  consent.  In  batter- 
in  •_>•  the  door  of  the  engine-house,  one  of  Lee's  men  was  killed. 
Brown  fought  to  the  last,  and  only  yielded  when  badly  wounded. 
0.'  the  whole  band  of  twenty-two  men,  ten  whites  and  three 
negroes  were  killed,  three  whites  and  two  negroes  were  taken 
prisoners,  four  escaped,  but  two  were  subsequently  taken  in  Penn- 
s\  Ivauia.  Brown  was  indicted  for  treason  and  murder  under  the 
laws  of  Virginia,  found  guilty,  and  hanged  on  the  2d  of  Decem 
ber.  His  remaining  companions,  except  Aaron  L.  Stevens,  who 
11 


212  DEMOCRACY   IN   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

was  handed  over  to  the  United  States  for  trial,  on  charges  of 
murder  and  treason,  committed  within  their  jurisdiction,  were 
convicted  and  hung  on  the  IGth  of  December. 

Was  Brown  a  martyr  or  a  murderer  ?  It  is  unquestionable 
that  under  Brown's  direction  five  men  were  shot  and  killed.  This 
was  murder,  unless  the  constitution  and  government  formed  in 
Canada  were  a  protection,  which  no  one,  except  perhaps  a  be 
wildered  secessionist  or  abolitionist,  will  pretend.  He  clearly  was 
not  a  martyr.  He  did  not  die  because  of  his  opinions,  but  was 
hanged  for  committing  unquestioned  murder.  He  designed  to 
commit  other  murders,  and  was  only  restrained  by  enforcing  a 
law,  which  is  common  to  every  State,  as  well  as  to  England. 
He  was  not  executed  for  his  opinions,  but  for  his  acts,  constitut 
ing  murder  in  the  first  degree.  It  is  painful  to  add,  that  the  Re 
publicans  either  secretly  justified  or  openly  sympathized  with  this 
murderer,  who  had  no  pretence  of  a  justification  under  any  gov 
ernment  or  law.  When  Mr.  Mason  moved  for  a  committee  of 
the  Senate  to  investigate  the  matter,  Mr.  Trumbull,  of  Illinois, 
sought  to  defeat  it.  John  P.  Hale,  a  Senator  from  New  Hamp 
shire,  treated  the  motion  with  levity  and  ridicule.  On  the  day  he 
was  hung  efforts  were  made  in  each  House  of  the  Legislature  in 
Massachusetts  to  adjourn  out  of  respect  to  the  occasion,  but  did 
not  prevail.  In  many  places  prayers  were  offered  up  and  church- 
bells  tolled.  He  was  treated  as  a  martyr,  and  placed  in  the  same 
category  with  Paul  and  Silas.  Churches  were  draped  in  mourn 
ing.  Why  all  these  proceedings  in  behalf  of  a  convicted  mur 
derer?  The  answer  must  be,  that  the  Republican  party  approved 
of  his  murders,  because  he  belonged  to  their  party  and  designed 
to  promote  their  ends.  They  had  undoubtedly  furnished  the 
means  that  defrayed  the  expenses,  and  enabled  him  to  do  what  he 
did. 

90.— AZ  ART  AH  C.  FLAGG. 

Since  the  loss  of  his  sight,  a  few  years  since,  the  name  of  Mr. 
Flagg  has  been  little  before  the  public.  But  during  his  active 
life  few  in  New  York  were  more  distinguished  or  respected.  He 
was  born  November  28,  1790,  at  Orwell,  Vermont.  At  the  jve 


AZARIAII    C.    FLAGG.  243 

of  eleven  lie  was  apprenticed  to  a  printer  in  Burlington,  in  tliat 
State,  where  lie  learned  that  art.  In  1811,  at  the  age  of  twenty- 
one,  he  commenced  printing  the  Plattsburg  Republican,  for  the 
proprietors,  and  continued  to  do  so  until  1826,  a  period  of  fifteen 
years,  at  which  time  he  was  appointed  Secretary  of  State  by  the 
New-York  Legislature.  During  his  connection  with  the  Platts- 
bu.'ff  Republican  Mr.  Flagg's  was  the  principal  pen  employed 
upon  it,  which  gave  it  a  wide  circulation  as  well  as  a  control- 
in  £  influence  in  that  part  of  the  State.  His  activity,  energy,  and 
usefulness  as  a  volunteer  at  the  time  the  British  attempted  to  take 
Plattsburg,  on  the  llth  of  September,  1814,  turned  public  atten 
tion  to  him,  and  made  him  popular  with  all  parties.  The  knowl 
edge  and  mind  which  he  displayed  in  his  paper  induced  the  De 
mocracy  of  Clinton  County  to  elect  him  to  the  Assembly  in  the 
fall  of  1822.  He  took  his  seat  on  the  1st  of  January,  182-3,  and 
wrs  again  reflected  and  took  his  seat  in  1824.  In  that  body  he 
took  a  distinguished  part  in  the  attempted  legislation  in  relation 
to  changing  the  electoral  law,  in  which  he  displayed  great  readi 
ness  in  debate  and  tact  in  legislative  proceedings.  In  the  Assem- 
bl  VT  he  was  made  a  leader  by  his  Democratic  friends,  whom  they 
cheerfully  followed.  A  bill  changing  the  electoral  law,  taking  the 
appointment  from,  the  Legislature,  and  conferring  the  election 
upon  the  people,  had  passed  the  House,  but  was  lost  in  the  Sen 
ate  in  consequence  of  that  body  not  being  able  to  agree  upon  the 
questions  whether  it  should  require  a  majority  to  elect,  and 
whether  the  election  should  be  by  districts,  or  by  general  ticket. 
Being  unable  to  agree  upon  these  questions  the  Senate  had  post 
poned  the  subject  indefinitely,  and  the  Legislature  adjourned. 
Governor  Yates  convened  the  Legislature  by  proclamation,  and 
submitted  the  subject  to  them  again.  Mr.  Flagg  denied  that  any 
such  emergency  had  occurred  as  authorized  the  call,  and  there 
upon  moved  a  concurrent  resolution  of  adjournment,  which 
]*-issed  both  Houses.  This  called  down  upon  him  the  wrath  of 
the  Clay  and  Adams  men  of  the  country.  Abuse  in  every  form 
v.'iis  heaped  upon  him.  But  he  was  right,  and  Governor  Yates 
was  clearly  wrong.  The  Legislature  had  acted  upon  the  electoral 
l:i\v  questions  before  they  adjourned,  and  he  had  no  right  to  con- 


24:4  DEMOCEACY    IN    THE   UNITED    STATES. 

vene  them  to  reconsider  and  act  upon  them  again.     The  ques 
tions  were  not  new,  but  old,  and  had  been  disposed  of. 

The  talent  exhibited  by  Mr.  Flagg  while  in  the  Assembly,  and 
his  faithful  adherence  to  Democratic  principles  induced  the  Dem 
ocrats  in  the  Legislature  to  elect  him  Secretary  of  State  at  the 
winter  session  of  1826.  The  duties  of  this  office  he  performed  to 
the  entire  satisfaction  of  those  who  conferred  it,  and  without  com 
plaint  from  his  political  adversaries.  He  was  reelected  in  1829, 
without  opposition,  and  again,  in  1832.  At  this  time,  the  Sec 
retary  of  State  was  cx-offido  Superintendent  of  Common  Schools. 
His  reports  as  Secretary  of  State,  if  collated,  would  make  many 
volumes.  Each  required  his  personal  attention.  They  were  char 
acterized"  by  brevity  and  clearness,  rendering  them  the  more  con 
venient  and  useful. 

On  the  llth  of  January,  1833,  Silas  Wright,  who  was  then 
Comptroller,  was  elected  United  States  Senator,  and  Mr.  Fiagg 
succeeded  him  as  Comptroller.  He  was  reelected  February  1, 
1836,  and  served  until  the  4th  of  February,  1839.  On  the  10th 
of  that  month  he  was  commissioned  postmaster  at  Albany,  by  Mr. 
Van  Buren,' which  office  he  held  until  May  1,  1841,  when  he  was 
removed  under  the  Harrison  administration,  by  Francis  Granger, 
then  Postmaster-General.  After  this  removal  he  was  connected  with 
a  paper  published  in  Albany,  called  The  Rough-Hewer.  On  the 
7th  of  February,  1842,  Mr.  Flagg  was  again  elected  Comptroller, 
and  reelected  February,  1845.  The  number  of  reports  made  by 
Mr.  Flagg,  as  Comptroller,  amounts  to  many  hundreds,  and  are  of 
the  highest  value.  The  truths  and  principles  then  developed  are 
applicable  to  the  present  day.  It  was  he  who  first  called  the  at 
tention  of  the  public  to  the  State  and  municipal  debts,  contracted 
or  authorized.  This  document  produced  very  great  effect  upon 
the  public  mind.  Neither  his  accuracy  nor  integrity  was  ever 
called  in  question.  Whenever  he  wrote  or  acted,  he  followed  the 
dictates  of  honest  and  just  intentions. 

The  last  official  position  held  by  Mr.  Flagg  was  that  of  Comp 
troller  of  the  city  of  New  York,  where  he  fully  sustained  his  rep 
utation  for  industry,  fidelity,  and  unflinching  firmness.  Owing  to 
impaired  sight,  he  declined  further  official  duties. 


AZARIAH   C.    FLAGG.  245 

Mr.  Flavor  seemed  to  have  an  intuitive  knowledge  of  financial 

OO  O 

matters.  All  classes  placed  implicit  confidence  in  his  ability  and 
integrity,  and,  in  the  worst  of  times,  relied  upon  him  as  a  safe 
pilot.  When  it  was  necessary  for  the  State  to  borrow  money,  and 
he  made  the  call,  giving  assurances  as  to  the  result,  he  com 
manded  the  resources  of  the  State,  from  the  spinster  loaning  a 
hundred  dollars,  to  the  capitalist  lending  his  half  million.  Neither 
his  judgment  nor  promises  ever  failed.  Although  not  a  lawyer 
by  profession,  Governor  Wright  considered  him  the  best  con- 
str  ictionist  of  statutes  he  ever  saw. 

When  Mr.  Polk  become  President,  he  tendered  to  Governor 
Wright  the  place  of  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  and  requested,  if 
he  did  not  accept,  that  he  should  recommend  a  suitable  man. 
The  Governor  declined,  and  unhesitatingly  recommended  Mr. 
Flagg.  Why  he  was  not  appointed,  is  a  matter  outside  of  our 
present  purposes.  Suffice  it  to  say,  that  it  was  not  on  the  ground 
of  doubtful  fitness  for  the  place,  nor  on  account  of  any  thing  said 
or  done  by  him.  Mr.  Polk  made  a  mistake  in  not  following  Gov 
ernor  Wright's  recommendation. 

In  person  Mr.  Flagg  is  short  and  erect,  with  high  forehead  and 
lij:;ht  eyes.  His  address  is  frank  and  cordial  with  friends,  and  cour- 
te  jus  to  adversaries.  His  memory  is  remarkably  retentive,  and  his 
mind  well  stored  with  useful  knowledge.  Although  without  eye 
sight,  he  is  well  posted  upon  current  topics  and  events,  and  is  still 
confided  in  as  a  safe  adviser.  Although  nearly  forty  years  in  public 
Hie,  there  has  never  been  a  whisper  against  his  integrity  or  faithful 
ness.  His  political  opinions  seem  a  part  of  his  life,  and  he  cannot 
throw  them  aside  and  adopt  others.  No  extent  of  interest  could 
induce  him  to  play  the  hypocrite,  or  profess  what  he  did  not 
believe.  Some  who  started  in  public  life  with  him,  or  joined  him 
on  the  way,  have  changed  with  every  popular  breeze,  and  pro 
fessed  every  variety  of  doctrine,  while  his  course  has  been  as  true 
to  his  early  professed  faith  as  the  needle  to  the  pole,  and  he  has 
ever  practised  what  he  professed.  Such  a  man  is  an  honor  to 
any  country. 


240  DEMOCEACY   IN   THE    UNITED   STATES. 


97.— FRANKLIN  PIERCE  AND  HIS  ADMINISTRATION. 

Franklin  Pierce,  the  son  of  a  revolutionary  officer,  and  Gov 
ernor  of  New  Hampshire,  was  born  at  Hillsborough,  New  Hamp 
shire,  November  23, 1804.  Receiving  a  liberal  education,  he  stud 
ied  law  and  commenced  practice  in  1827,  and  two  years  after  was 
elected  to  the  Legislature,  where  lie  served  four  years,  and  two 
of  them  as  Speaker.  He  had  many  of  the  elements  of  popularity, 
which  kept  him  in  public  life.  At  the  close  of  his  service  in  the 
Legislature,  he  was  elected  to  Congress,  where  lie  served  four  years, 
and  was  then  elected  to  tlie  "United  States  Senate.  He  served  in 
that  body  until  1842,  when  he  resigned  and  resumed  the  practice 
of  his  profession.  "When  the  Mexican  War  commenced,  he  vol 
unteered  as  a  private,  but  was  soon  commissioned  as  a  colonel 
and  then  as  a  brigadier-general  by  President  Polk,  who,  when 
signing  the  latter  commission,  said  to  the  writer  that  he  was 
destined  to  become  President  of  the  United  States.  Mr.  Polk's 
prophecy  became  history.  He  fully  met  the  expectation  of  his 
friends,  and  returned  with  increased  reputation,  receiving  un 
bounded  applause  in  his  State.  On  returning  home  from  the  war, 
he  resumed  the  practice  of  the  law,  with  distinguished  success. 
He  was  soon  elected  a  member  of  the  convention  to  revise  the 
State  constitution,  and  manfully  exerted  himself  to  rid  that  instru 
ment  of  the  provision  excluding  Catholics  from  office  in  the  State. 

At  the  Baltimore  Democratic  Convention  in  1852  he  was  nom 
inated,  and  in  the  fall  elected  President  by  a  very  large  vote  over 
General  Scott,  nominated  by  the  Whigs.  On  the  4th  of  March, 
1853,  lie  entered  upon  the  duties  of  President.  A  dispute  with 
Mexico,  concerning  our  boundary  in  the  Mesilla  Valley,  resulted 
in  the  acquisition  of  what  is  now  called  Arizona.  It  was  under 
Mr.  Picrce's  directions  that  Secretary  Marcy  wrote  his  celebrated 
Martin  Koszta  letter,  which  has  justly  become  so  famous  in  the 
annals  of  diplomacy. 

In  January,  1854,  Mr.  Douglas,  Senator  from  Illinois,  made  a 
report  to  Congress,  accompanied  by  a  bill,  to  create  a  Territory 
now  constituting  the  States  of  Kansas  and  Nebraska,  leaving  the 
Missouri  Compromise  to  stand.  Subsequently  the  bill  was  roconi- 


FRANKLIN    PIERCE    AND    HIS   ADMINISTRATION. 

minted  and  a  new  one  reported,  creating  two  new  Territories  and 
repealing  the  Compromise  Act.  This  bill  passed,  and  aggravated 
a  controversy,  begun  long  before,  which  precipitated  secession  and 
disunion.  It  brought  the  abolitionists  and  Whigs  together,  fio-ht- 
inp'  side  by  side,  upon  exciting  questions.  Disunion  really  began  in 
Kansas.  The  South  claimed  the  right  to  remove  there  with  slaves, 
and  the  united  Whigs  and  abolitionists  disputed  that  right.  So 
cieties  with  large  capital,  sometimes  incorporated,  were  estab 
lished,  members  of  Congress  participating,  to  control  the  politics 
of  Kansas.  Contributions  were  token  up  and  sermons  preached 
for  the  same  purpose.  Even  children  were  robbed  of  their  pennies 
to  aid  the  work  of  politicians.  The  Word  of  God  and  "  Minnie 
anil  Sharpe's  rifles"  were  mingled  in  the  clergyman's  study,  if  not 
in  his  pulpit.  This  war,  for  it  was  emphatically  such,  was  not 
en  led  in  Mr.  Pierce's  time,  but  was  left  as  a  fatal  legacy  for  his 
successor,  Mr.  Buchanan.  It  was  the  cord  which  bound  the  Whigs 
and  abolitionists  together,  proving  in  the  end  the  instrument  with 
which  the  Whigs  were  strangled  and  the  abolitionists  secured 
th  sir  power.  Mr.  Pierce  was  not  responsible  for  this  unfortunate 
Kansas  legislation.  lie  vetoed  two  bills,  one  relating  to  the 
repair  of  certain  public  works,  and  the  other  distributing  ten 
millions  of  acres  of  public  lands  to  the  States  for  relief  of  indi 
gent  insane.  In  this  he  was  clearly  right,  as  neither  was  author 
ized  by  the  Constitution.  His  veto  of  the  increased  appropriation 
for  the  Collins  steamers  met  with  the  hearty  acquiescence  of  the 
pnblic.  Millions  have  been  squandered  upon  private  steamship 
companies,  without  the  Government  receiving  any  adequate  return. 
Such  acts  are  unconstitutional.  The  British  minister,  Mr.  Cramp- 
ton,  became  a  party  to  the  illegal  enlistments  in  this  country  for 
the  Crimean  War,  and  his  recall  was  demanded  by  Mr.  Pierce. 
This  being  refused,  he  dismissed  both  him  and  the  British  consuls 
at  Cincinnati,  Philadelphia,  and  New  York.  This  decision  and 
firmness  was  highly  gratifying  to  the  country.  In  August,  1856, 
Congress  adjourned  without  making  appropriations  for  the  sup 
port  of  the  army,  in  consequence  of  a  limitation  imposed  in  the 
army  bill,  in  the  House,  forbidding  its  use  in  sustaining  the  terri 
torial  laws  in  Kansas.  Mr.  Pierce  convened  Congress  by  procla- 


MS  DEMOCEACY   IN   THE   UNITED    STATES. 

mation  on  the  21st  of  August,  when  the  bill  without  the  proviso 
was  passed  and  approved.  After  retiring  from  public  life,  Mr. 
Pierce  travelled  extensively  in  Europe,  returning  in  1860,  since 
which  he  has  resided  in  his  native  State,  appearing  once  or  twice 
before  the  public  in  an  address,  declaring  himself  against  secession 
and  disunion,  and  urging  the  people  to  give  the  national  adminis 
tration  a  vigorous  support  in  putting  down  the  rebellion. 

Mr.  Pierce  has  a  pleasing  address  and  is  a  great  favorite  in 
society.  Although  at  first  not  successful  as  a  speaker,  he  after 
ward  became  one  of  our  happiest  orators,  often  presenting  his 
thoughts  in  a  style  that  would  do  credit  to  any  age  or  nation. 
His  remarks  at  the  tomb  of  Mr.  Webster  are  unexcelled  in  the 
English  language.  The  untoward  events  during  the  last  two  years 
of  his  administration,  for  which  he  was  not  responsible,  clouded 
his  popularity,  but  did  not  destroy  the  confidence  of  his  friends 
either  in  his  ability  or  honesty.  These  events  had  their  origin 
with  others  seeking  political  power,  and  over  whom  he  could  ex 
ercise  no  control.  From  the  commencement  of  his  political  life 
down  to  the  present  time,  he  has  been  a  Democrat  of  the  strictest 
kind.  Few  men  have  ever  adhered  more  closely  to  the  Constitu 
tion,  or  struggled  more  manfully  to  sustain  it.  In  matters  of  mere 
policy  he  might  have  yielded ;  but  where  the  Constitution  was  con 
cerned,  he  never  submitted  to  compromise.  It  is  to  be  regretted 
that  there  are  not  more  who  entertain  his  convictions  on  consti 
tutional  questions,  and  possess  his  firmness  in  dealing  with  the^n. 
The  duration  of  our  republic  depends  upon  a  rigid  adherence  to 
the  Constitution,  not  only  in  letter,  but  in  spirit. 

98.— JAMES  BUCIIAXAX. 

Events  of  an  anomalous  character,  over  which  he  had  no  con 
trol,  temporarily  obscured  the  brilliancy  of  Mr.  Buchanan's  char 
acter.  Like  that  of  an  eclipse  of  the  sun,  the  obscurity  will  have 
but  a  brief  duration.  lie  was  held  accountable  for  acts  he  never 
performed,  and  challenged  for  those  of  others  which  he  never 
prompted  or  approved.  A  division  of  his  own  party,  for  which 
he  was  not  responsible,  left  him  without  the  means  of  accomplish 
ing  good  and  staying  evil,  in  conformity  to  the  promptings  of  his 


JAMES   BUCHANAN.  249 

own  judgment  and  bis  views  of  duty.  It  became  fashionable  to 
excuse  everybody  else,  and  heap  all  faults  upon  him.  The  public 
mind,  not  fed  with  truth  or  properly  aided  in  its  pursuit,  at  first 
halted,,  then  doubted,  and  finally,  knowing  that  there  was  wrong 
somewhere,  charged  him  as  responsible.  But  Truth  has  awakened 
from  her  slumbers,  and  History,  brushing  away  the  clouds  and 
mists,  is  doing  him  justice.  His  own  defence  of  his  administra 
tion,  not  yet  extensively  read,  is  a  triumphant  vindication  from  all 
the  charges  made  against  him. 

During  his  administration  the  allied  Whigs  and  abolitionists 
were  his  enemies  and  accusers.  Half  of  his  own  party  withdrew 
from  him  their  support,  and  neither  contradicted  nor  refuted  the 
known  false  accusations  brought  against  him.  His  defence  rested 
wVth  that  limited  number  who  adhered  to  and  confided  in  him. 
Under  such  circumstances  it  is  not  strange  that  he  should  be 
broadly  misunderstood.  Those  who  were  actors  against  him  will 
bo  slow  in  searching  for  truth  and  not  prompt  in  yielding  to  it. 
But  time  corrects  all  damaging  errors,  and  he  will  stand  before 
his  countrymen  and  in  history  as  pure  and  unspotted  as  when  the 
people  made  him  their  President,  before  any  portion  of  the  Demo- 
ci'atic  party  found  it  agreeable  or  advantageous  to  join  his  political 
enemies  in  traducing  him. 

Mr.  Buchanan  was  born  April  23,  1791,  in  Franklin  County, 
Pennsylvania,  his  father  being  Scotch-Irish,  and  his  mother  a 
oaughter  of  Pennsylvania.  He  was  well  educated,  studied  law, 
and  was  admitted  to  practice  in  1812.  His  industry,  learning, 
,•  nd  capacity,  soon  brought  him  an  abundance  of  business.  At 
the  age  of  twenty- three  he  was  elected  to  the  State  Legislature. 
^\A'hcn  the  British  destroyed  the  capitol,  in  Washington,  in 
1814,  he  headed  a  list  of  volunteers,  and,  as  a  private,  proceeded 
to  Baltimore.  The  company  were  soon  after  discharged.  In 
LS22  he  entered  Congress,  and  continued  until  1881,  when  he  de 
clined  a  reelection.  In  1832  he  was  sent  by  General  Jackson 
minister  to  Russia,  where  he  effected  an  important  treaty.  Mr. 
Buchanan  at  first  declined  this  mission,  but  he  was  persuaded  to 
take  it,  as  he  was  the  best  man  in  the  country  to  make  the  desired 
treaty.  The  fact  that  it  has  stood  the  test  of  more  than  a  genera- 


250  DEMOCRACY   IN   THE    UNITED    STATES. 

tiers,  and  that  it  is  without  a  single  alteration,  is  but  another  ex 
ample  of  General  Jackson's  sagacity  in  selecting  men  for  impor 
tant  service.  On  his  return  in  1834  he  was  elected  to  the  United 
States  Senate  to  fill  a  vacancy,  and  in  1837  was  reflected,  and 
again  reflected  in  1843.  On  being  appointed  Secretary  of  State, 
in  1845,  by  Mr.  Polk,  he  resigned  his  seat  in  the  Senate.  In 
1853  he  was  appointed  by  Mr.  Pierce  minister  to  London,  where 
he  remained  until  1856.  He  was  regarded  by  some  as  the  ablest 
representative  of  America  ever  sent  to  the  court  of  St.  James. 
On  his  return  he  was  nominated  for  the  presidency  by  the  Dem 
ocratic  party,  and  elected  in  the  fall  of  that  year,  was  sworn  into 
office  on  the  4th  of  March,  1857,  and  served  the  full  term  of  four 
years. 

His  residence,  since  he  commenced  the  study  of  the  law,  has 
been  at  the  city  of  Lancaster,  latterly  at  his  place  called  Wheat- 
land,  a  short  distance  out  of  the  city,  where  he  now  resides,  en 
joying  good  health  and  the  respect  of  all  those  who  know  him. 
In  early  life  he  was  classed  with  the  Federalists,  but  all  sympathy 
with  that  party  ended  with  their  opposition  to  the  War  of  1812, 
and  their  effort  to  cause  our  country  to  be  beaten  in  that  con 
flict.  The  residue  of  his  life  has  been  devoted  to  the  active  sup 
port  of  the  Democratic  party,  and  the  principles  upon  which  it 
is  founded. 

At  the  called  session  of  1841  Mr.  Buchanan  greatly  distin 
guished  himself  in  the  discussions  on  chartering  a  Bank  of  the 
United  States.  He  probably  never  appeared  to  better  advantage, 
although  his  management  of  the  impeachment  of  Judge  Peck, 
when  he  was  in  the  House,  won  him  much  applause,  and  proved 
his  high  qualifications  as  a  lawyer. 

On  a  former  occasion,  the  writer,  in  describing  Mr.  Buchanan, 
used  this  language  :  "  He  receives  his  company  with  a  courtesy 
and  simplicity  that  make  every  one  feel  at  his  case,  though  he 
never  appears  undignified.  His  conversation  has  a  peculiar 
charm,  because  he  uses,  as  Mr.  Calhoun  did,  common  and  plain 
language  to  communicate  his  thoughts.  He  never  confounds  you 
with  language  or  words  that  you  do  not  understand,  nor  docs  he 
attempt  to  dazzle  by  striking  expressions,  or  applying  pungent 


ME.  BUCHANAN'S  ADMINISTRATION.  251 

epithets.  His  is  the  clear,_  explicit  language  of  every-day  life,  and 
which  is  most  befitting  all  stations.  Every  thing  about  him  in 
dicated  that  he  loved  order  and  quiet,  and  that  the  tendency  of 
his  mind  was  in  favor  of  utility.  .  i  .  His  tastes  arc  of  the 
most  simple  kind,  and  he  lives,  like  his  neighbors,  without  at 
tempting  foolish  ostentation  or  wearisome  display.  His  uniform 
frugality  has  crowned  his  latter  years  with  a  liberal  competency, 
never  contaminated  by  parsimony.  He  has  always  been  liberal 
and  charitable.  Poverty  and  affliction  never  solicited  of  him  in 
vsiu."  These  are  some  of  the  traits  in  his  character  that  then 
arrested  attention.  Mr.  Buchanan  has  the  happy  faculty  of  say 
ing  much  in  a  few  words.  When  he  speaks  or  writes,  he  uses 
not  one  word  more  than  is  necessary,  and  we  seldom  find  that  a 
necessary  one  has  been  omitted.  Everybody  can  perfectly  under 
stand  him.  His  conversation  is  in  striking  contrast  with  that  of 
many  who  cannot  be  understood  except  with  dictionaries  in  hand. 
lie  is  a  fast  friend  to  those  who  secure  his  confidence,  and  he 
seldom  mistakes  the  characters  or  motives  of  men. 

99.— MR,  BUCHANAN'S  ADMINISTRATION. 

If  he  was  not  eminent  as  a  political  tactician,  Mr.  Buchanan 
was  one  of  the  ablest  executive  officers  ever  occupying  the  pres 
idential  chair,  having  clear  and  exact  ideas  of  constitutional  pow 
ers  and  duties,  and  the  force  and  effect  of  statutes,  and  great 
] earning  in  the  law  of  nations.  It  was  not  in  his  nature  to  wish 
to  escape  the  responsibilities  of  his  position.  His  mind  was  natu 
rally  peaceful  and  not  belligerent,  though  he  was  ever  prepared  to 
return  blows  when  he  received  them.  He  inherited  the  Kansas 
difficulties  which  had  sprung  up  and  surrounded  Mr.  Pierce's  Ad 
ministration,  and  which  entangled  his  own  without  any  fault  of 
his.  He  was  our  minister  in  London  at  their  inception  and  early 
grotwh.  Had  he  abandoned  what  he  believed  to  be  his  duty, 
and  played  the  adroit  but  unscrupulous  politician,  he  could  easily 
Lave  avoided  the  difficulties  of  the  situation,  and  remained  unaf 
fected  by  them.  But,  as  they  lay  in  the  path  of  duty,  he  cheer 
fully  encountered  them.  The  difficulties  were  largely  increased 
by  Congress  being  divided  into  three  parties,  seeking  different 


252  DEMOCRACY   IN   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

ends,  neither  having  a  majority.  On  the  29th  of  January,  1861, 
all  difficulties  in  relation  to  those  matters  terminated  by  Kansas 
being  admitted  as  a  State.  But  the  bitter  feelings  engendered 
by  them  were  neither  ended  nor  much  softened.  Partisans  in 
and  out  of  Congress,  who  had  never  before  acted  together,  and 
between  whose  principles  there  was  little  resemblance,  gradually 
came  together,  and  embarrassed,  if  they  did  not  directly  oppose, 
Mr.  Buchanan's  Administration.  His  most  important  recom 
mendations,  if  not  directly  questioned,  were  utterly  disregarded. 

The  Democratic  National  Convention,  in  the  spring  of  1860, 
was  held  at  Charleston,  South  Carolina.  The  differences  which 
had  separated  the  Democrats  in  Congress,  and  embarrassed  the 
Administration,  were  soon  manifested  in  the  convention,  and, 
without  making  a  nomination,  it  finally  adjourned  to  Baltimore. 
When  it  again  assembled,  it  split,  and  two  nominations — Douglas 
and  Breekenridge — were  made.  The  difficulties,  nominally,  grew 
out  of  framing  a  platform,  and  mostly  from  past  questions,  but  really 
from  personal  considerations,  having  their  origin  in  conflicts 
arising  in  Kansas  matters.  The  Democrats  went  into  the  con 
test  with  a  divided  front,  and,  although  largely  in  the  majority, 
were  defeated.  The  Whigs  and  abolitionists,  from  the  Northern 
States,  calling  themselves  Republicans,  met  in  convention  at 
Chicago ;  nominated  Abraham  Lincoln,  and  placed  him  before 
the  country  upon  issues  which  were  clearly  sectional,  and  hostile 
to  the  slaveholding  States.  That  portion  of  the  old  Whig  party 
which  had  not  consented  to  be  absorbed  by  the  abolitionists, 
called  a  convention  at  Baltimore,  which  nominated  John  Bell, 
of  Tennessee,  for  President,  and  Edward  Everett  for  Yicc-Presi- 
dent,  declaring  they  were  supporters  of  the  Constitution,  and  in 
favor  of  enforcing  the  laws.  This  ticket  received  the  votes  of 
those  Whigs  who  revered  the  Constitution,  and  were  unwilling 
to  support  the  Republican  or  either  of  the  Democratic  tickets. 
Each  of  the  four  tickets  received  electoral  votes — Bell  and 
Everett,  those  of  Virginia,  Tennessee,  and  Kentucky ;  Douglas, 
those  of  Missouri  and  New  Jersey  ;  Breekenridge,  those  of  the  re 
maining  slave  States  ;  and  Lincoln  the  residue,  who,  of  course,  was 
elected.  Such  a  result  was  not  calculated  to  heal  the  difficulties 


MK.    BUCHANANS    ADMINISTRATION.  253 

in  which,  the  country  was  involved  ;  and,  when  Congress  met  in  De 
cember,  it  was  found  that  they  continued  to  exist,  and  were  effective 
for  evil.  The  election  of  a  sectional  candidate  to  the  presidency, 
who  had  not  even  an  electoral  ticket  in  the  field,  in  the  fifteen 
slave  States,  and  upon  issues  hostile  to  them,  naturally  aroused 
a  deep  feeling  in  those  States,  whose  rights  were  thought  to  bo 
in  danger.  Much  had  been  said  during  the  campaign,  calcu- 
lalcd  to  irritate  and  inflame  the  public  mind,  and  give  force  and 
cij'ect  to  discontent.  Their  rights,  whatever  they  might  be,  were 
cbarly  as  sacred  as  those  of  other  States.  But  the  mode  of 
pi  election  selected  was  a  fatal,  suicidal  one,  and  destructive  to  their 
own,  as  well  as  to  the  interests  of  the  nation.  They  should  have 
fought  the  battle  for  their  preservation,  in  instead  of  out  of  the 
Union,  and  then  the  Democracy  would  have  sustained  them  as 
far  as  the  Constitution  authorized.  But  the  fatal  step  of  seces 
sion  was  resolved  upon,  to  be  followed  by  an  appeal  to  the  God 
of  battles,  whose  decision,  they  ought  to  have  known,  would  be 
against  them.  Here  a  new  and  great  danger  presented  itself,  and 
its  manner  of  treatment  by  Mr.  Buchanan  has  been  grossly  mis 
represented  and  misunderstood,  which  created  a  false  and  unjust 
impression  against  him.  It  is  the  rising,  and  not  the  setting 
s  in  that  is  worshipped,  and  his  was  the  setting.  In  Congress 
t  icre  were  two  sections  who  cherished  no  kind  feelings  toward 
Lim — one,  embracing  a  portion  of  the  Democratic  party,  who 
AY  ere  willing  to  see  him  crucified ;  and  another  which  were  ready 
f  )r  any  measures  which  might  result  in  the  triumph  of  abolition. 
Neither  took  one  step  to  prevent  or  repress  secession,  or  to 
nvoid  the  conflict  of  arms  which  naturally  followed.  Mr.  Lincoln 
and  his  leading  friends  stood  pledged  to  their  followers  to 
abolish  slavery.  This  could  not  be  done,  in  any  possible  way, 
under  the  Constitution,  and  this  could  not  be  amended  without 
vhc  consent  of  a  large  portion  of  the  slave  States.  How,  then,  was 
it  to  be  done  ?  The  North  could  not  declare  war,  to  enforce 
abolition  in  the  South.  There  was  no  possible  way  of  keeping 
their  promises,  but  to  present  such  a  state  of  things  as  to  induce 
the  South  to  become  actors  in  secession,  and  then  to  be  allowed, 
on  Mr.  Greeley's  plan,  to  "  go  in  peace,"  with  slavery,  or  to 


254-  DEMOCRACY   IN   THE    UNITED    STATES. 

plunge  the  country  into  a  war,  and  to  secure  the  extinction  of  it, 
as  one  of  the  consequences  of  resorting  to  arms.  Although  Re 
publicans  did  not  agree  in  the  mode  of  treeing  the  nation  from 
the  taint  of  slavery,  they  did  agree  in  taking  no  steps  to  stifle 
secession.  Both  plans  were  based  upon  secession  movements  at 
the  South,  and  one  of  them  held  out  encouragement  of  a  bloodless 
result.  Although  fearing  fatal  results,  Mr.  Buchanan's  oft-repeated 
communications  to  Congress  on  the  subject  produced  no  action. 
As  President,  when  Congress  was  in  session,  his  power  of  action 
was  limited,  and  Congress  conferred  no  power — none  authorizing 
action  of  any  kind.  The  army,  on  a  peace  establishment,  was 
almost  nominal,  and  distributed  at  points  of  danger;  and  he  had 
no  power  to  solicit  volunteers,  or  call  out  the  militia.  The  laws 
did  not  provide  for  the  existing  state  of  things,  and  he  could  not 
change  them  ;  and  Congress  declined  to  act.  The  South  was  en 
couraged  to  enter  upon  her  fatal  movement  by  numerous  Re 
publican  papers,  and  induced  to  believe  that  no  efforts  would  be 
made  to  prevent  their  going  in  peace,  as  Chief-Justice  Chase  sug 
gested,  after  he  came  into  Lincoln's  Cabinet.  The  responsibility 
of  omitting  all  action  to  prevent  or  meet  secession  rested,  not 
with  Mr.  Buchanan,  but  with  Congress,  which  refused  to  do  any 
thing.  Mr.  Buchanan's  vindication  proves  this  beyond  doubt  or 
question.  A  careful  examination  of  the  journals  and  debates  of 
Congress,  as  well  as  the  laws  then  passed,  will  incontestibly  prove 
what  we  assert.  No  man  can  point  to  one  law  passed  by  Con 
gress  to  prevent  secession,  or  to  avoid  war.  Those  Republicans 
who  did  not  go  with  Grcelcy  and  Chief-Justice  Chase,  in  letting  the 
South  "  go  in  peace,"  expected  and  wished  for  Avar,  as  a  means  of 
fulfilling  their  promises  to  the  abolitionists.  This  view  is  sup 
ported  by  high  authority.  "When,  in  18GG,  Mr.  Seward  was 
charged  with  not  being  sufficiently  radical,  the  Albany  Evening 
Journal,  in  an  article,  probably  written  by  him,  proceeds  to  show 
that  he  had  been  a  great  Radical,  and  says  : 

"  The  Pittsburg  Convention  and  the  Philadelphia  Conven 
tion,  which  gave  shape  and  crystallization  to  the  sentiment  of  the 
North,  were  both  'radical'  bodies,  in  the  sense  in  which  we 
assume  that  term  to  be  used  by  the  Times.  They  proposed 


ME.    BUCHANANS    ADMINISTRATION.  255 

fundamental  changes  in  the  policy  of  our  Government.  To  ac 
complish  these  they  declared  war  upon  slavery.  Instead  of  '  con 
serving  '  that  institution,  they  took  measures  which  every  political 
observer  knew  must,  if  successful,  result  in  its  ultimate  extinction. 
With  full  understanding  of  the  fact  that  their  platform,  '•free  soil, 
free  speech,  free  men]  ivas  AN  INVITATION  TO  SOUTHERN  REVOLT, 

AND  THAT  THE  ELECTION  OF  THEIR  CANDIDATE  WOULD  PRECIPITATE 

A  CRISIS,  they  ivent  into  the  contest,  which  had  become  a  necessity  of 
national  preservation  and  integrity.  Beaten  in  the  first  national 
ca.ivass,  they  continued  the  fight  in  Kansas  and  upon  the  floors  of 
Congress,  and,  returning  to  the  charge  in  1860  with  a  'rail- 
splitter  '  candidate  for  the  presidency,  ivon  a  signal  triumph." 

The  truth  of  this  declaration  by  the  Evening  Journal  has 
never  been  denied.  It  is  unquestionably  true,  and  proves  two 
things — the  real  motives  in  running  abolitional  and  sectional 
candidates,  and  why  the  Republicans  in  Congress  took  no  steps, 
under  Mr.  Buchanan's  recommendations,  in  relation  to  secession, 
01  made  any  movement  of  their  own.  War  was  desired  by  two 
classes:  one  who  staked  every  thing  on  abolition,  and  the  other 
wishing  for  rapid  and  easy  means  of  making  fortunes  by  furnishing 
supplies  for  the  army  and  navy.  Mr.  Buchanan  wished  to  avoid 
Avar,  but  they  did  not  aid  him  in  preventing  it,  because  their 
hopes  of  final  success  in  abolition  depended  upon  the  nation  be 
ing  plunged  into  one.  Such  preventive  measures  as  he  could  take, 
v>ere  adopted  by  Mr.  Buchanan,  under  the  advice  of  General 
Scott,  whose  autobiography,  in  this  respect,  is  singularly  errone 
ous,  lie  confided  in  the  honesty  of  his  Cabinet,  but  dismissed 
Floyd  the  moment  he  detected  him  in  an  untruth,  without  sus 
pecting  his  loyalty  to  the  Government ;  and  the  stories  that  he 
l:ad  improperly  sent  the  Southern  States  national  anus,  were  untrue. 
They  had  not  their  share  under  the  law.  Up  to  this  period  Floyd 
professed  to  be  an  uncompromising  Unionist.  Mr.  Buchanan*  be 
lieved  that  the  fires  first  kindled  in  South  Carolina,  and  which  were 
spreading  to  other  States,  would  burn  themselves  out  in  a  short 
time,  if  no  fuel  in  the  shape  of  blood  should  be  supplied;  but 
when  that  should  be  furnished,  the  flames  would  be  unmanage 
able.  After  blood  is  shed,  few  men  reason.  Until  Mr.  Lincoln 


256  DEMOCKACY    IN   THE    UNITED    STATES. 

was  sworn  into  office  the  fires  of  secession  were  decreasing,  and 
would  have  died  out  but  for  the  attack  upon  Fort  Sumter,  which 
was  made  for  the  purpose  of  keeping  the  war-spirit  alive  in  the 
South,  and  of  arousing  it  at  the  North,  both  of  which  it  accom 
plished.  Mr.  Buchanan  did  not  desire  war,  but  the  South  and 
Mr.  Lincoln,  or  at  least  his  controlling  friends,  did.  His  policy 
would  have  avoided  it,  while  theirs  would  precipitate  it.  He 
said  to  the  writer  in  substance :  "  When  blood  is  drawn  men 
cease  to  reason,  and  blows  must  follow,  but  delay  cools  the  pas 
sion  and  usually  ends  in  peace."  His  policy  was  not  understood 
by  the  public.  Had  it  been  pursued  the  South  could  never  have 
made  common  cause  against  the  North,  nor  would  general  seces 
sions  or  war  have  followed.  It  is  convenient  for  those  whose  acts 
will  not  bear  the  test  of  strict  scrutiny  to  attempt  to  turn  attention 
from  themselves  by  charges  of  wrong  against  others,  and  especially 
when  so  situated  that  their  defence  cannot  reach  the  common 
ear.  Mr.  Buchanan's  real  record,  in  relation  to  secession  and  the 
war,  challenges  scrutiny,  and  when  honestly  and  thoroughly  made 
will  prove  him  a  wise  and  safe  counsellor. 

The  charge  often  made,  and  as  often  denied,  that  he  permitted 
Mr.  Toucey,  as  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  so  to  dispose  of  our  naval 
vessels  as  to  enable  the  rebels  to  profit  by  it,  has  been  disproved 
by  the  oath  of  Mr.  Toucey  before  a  Republican  committee  of  the 
Senate,  and  the  charge  abandoned  as  a  slander. 

Massachusetts  spoke  the  then  common  voice,  on  the  18th  of 
January,  1861,  when  the  Senate  of  that  State  passed  a  series  of 
resolves  by  a  unanimous  vote,  which  were  soon  after  concurred  in 
by  the  House,  of  which  the  following  is  one  : 

"  Resolved,  That  the  Legislature  of  Massachusetts,  now,  as 
always,  convinced  of  the  inestimable  value  of  the  Union,  and  the 
necessity  of  preserving  its  blessings  to  ourselves  and  our  posterity, 
regard  with  unminglcd  satisfaction  the  determination  evinced  in 
the  recent  firm  and  patriotic  special  message  of  the  President  of 
the  United  States  [Mr.  Buchanan]  to  amply  and  ably  discharge 
his  constitutional  duty  of  enforcing  the  laws  and  preserving  the 
integrity  of  the  Union,  and  we  proffer  to  him,  through  the 
Governor  of  the  Commonwealth,  such  aid  in  men  and  in  money 


THE   TYRANNY   OF   MAJORITIES    IN    CONGRESS.  257 

as  lie  may  require  to  maintain  the  authority  of  the  General  Gov 
ernment.* 

During  Mr.  Buchanan's  administration,  Colorado,  Nevada,  and 
Dakota,  were  organized  as  Territories.  Other  measures  of  an  im 
portant  character  were  adopted,  but  we  have  not  space  to  enumer 
ate  them.  It  has  been  our  purpose,  as  far  as  our  space  would 
permit,  to  do  Mr.  Buchanan  justice.  The  general  publications 
of  the  day  have  not  done  this,  if  it  were  even  their  intention  to  do 
so.  His  own  political  friends  have  not  fully  understood  his  acts 
or  policy,  and  have  too  readily  assented  to  the  assumptions  of 
his  political  enemies.  In  our  judgment  his  name  will  occupy  a 
high  place  in  the  history  of  our  country. 

100.— THE  TYRANNY  OF  MAJORITIES  IN  CONGRESS. 

The  two  Houses  of  Congress  were  established  by  the  Consti 
tution  as  deliberative  bodies  to  discuss,  deliberate,  and  determine 
questions  involving  the  interests  of  the  American  people  under  that 
instrument.  The  right  to  assemble  in  public  meetings,  and  to 
petition  for  the  redress  of  grievances,  was  provided  by  an  amend 
ment  of  the  Constitution,  substantially  agreed  upon  before  this 
great  charter  was  assented  to.  The  freedom  of  speech  and  of  the 
p  :ess,  contained  in  it,  had  a  like  origin.  The  honor  of  the  nation 
requires  that  every  question  involving  the  powers  and  duties  of 
the  Government  and  the  rights  of  the  people,  should  be  open  to 
fice  discussion  in  Congress,  where  they  are  acted  upon.  Every 
question  has  two  sides,  a  strong  and  a  weak  one,  which  are  only 
ascertained  by  free  discussion  and  an  honest  and  fair  interchange 
of  opinions,  and  the  reasons  upon  which  they  are  founded.  It  never 
entered  the  mind  of  the  framers  of  the  Constitution,  that  a  bill 
could  be  presented  to  Congress  and,  without  discussion,  forced  to  a 
vote,  without  any  consideration  whatever.  Such  a  course  is  in  vio 
lation  of  the  implied,  if  not  express,  privileges  of  legislative  bodies, 
and  of  the  rights  of  their  constituents.  "We  remember,  when  dis- 

*  This  important  fact  we  take  from  the  volume  of  the  Hon.  George  Lunt, 
entitled  "  The  Origin  of  the  Late  War."  We  are  largely  indebted  to  this 
book  for  many  important  facts,  and  consider  it  one  of  the  most  reliable 
works  on  that  subject,  and  hope  it  may  find  a  rjlace  in  every  household. 


258  DEMOCRACY   IN   THE   UNITED    STATES. 

cussion  on  a  bill  was  refused,  and  the  yeas  and  nays  denied,  winch 
General  Jackson  vetoed,  and,  on  reflection,  not  a  member  of  either 
House  then  thought  him  wrong,  and  no  attempt  was  made  to 
pass  the  bill  over  his  veto.  This  shows  the  importance  of  full  dis 
cussion.  The  House  of  Representatives  have  now  two  rules  which 
violate  full  and  free  discussion — the  hour  rule,  confining  members 
to  one  hour  in  their  discussions  upon  a  bill — sometimes  to  five 
minutes — and  the  previous  question,  which  cuts  oft*  all  debate — in 
other  words,  the  congressional  gag  law.  The  one-hour  rule  often 
prevents  a  full  presentation  of  the  matters  under  consideration, 
and  frequently  cuts  off  those  who  are  alone  competent  to  discuss 
the  questions  involved.  Of  the  many  who  talk,  few  really  throw 
light  upon  the  subject  under  discussion.  The  "previous  question" 
prohibits  all  discussion,  if  sustained  by  a  majority.  By  it,  a  de 
liberative  body,  created  to  discuss  questions,  becomes  mute  and 
cannot  assign  reasons  for  or  against  the  bill.  The  country  is 

£3  O  «/ 

left  in  ignorance  of  the  reasons  for  the  votes  for  and  against  the 
measure  involved.  The  previous  question  means,  "  drop  all  ques 
tions,  and  go  back  to  the  one  whether  the  bill  shall  pass  or  not." 
Since  the  Republicans  have  had  control  in  the  House  of  Repre 
sentatives,  a  large  number  of  bills  of  the  highest,  and  some  of 
vital  importance,  have  passed  the  House  under  the  operation  of 
the  previous  question,  and  sometimes  without  a  word  being  spoken 
on  either  side.  Compelling  members  to  vote  under  such  circum 
stances,  is  tyranny  as  to  them,  and  worse  than  tyranny  against  the 
people  who  are  expected  to  obey  laws  when  they  cannot  learn 
why  they  were  proposed  or  passed.  This  is  in  violation  of  the 
first  principles  of  Democracy.  It  has  never  been  a  rule  of  the 
Senate,  showing  that  it  need  not  be  of  the  House.  This  tyranny 
has  so  far  extended  itself,  that  the  minority  in  the  House  of  Rep 
resentatives  have  felt  bound  to  protest  against  it,  when  prevented 
from  discussing  the  questions  involved  in  the  impeachment  of 
President  Johnson.  Never  since  our  Government  was  formed  has 
the  tyranny  of  majorities  been  exercised  to  the  same  extent  as  at 
present.  Mattel's  formerly  considered  undoubted  rights,  are  now 
treated  as  favors,  and  generally  refused.  The  privileges  which  the 
majority  permit  or  refuse,  are  usually  determined  by  the  vote  of 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN.  259 

a  secret  caucus  of  members,  in  which  Senators  often  exercise  a 
controlling  influence.  The  minority  in  the  House  are  now  more 
enslaved  than  Southern  negroes  ever  were,  whose  mouths  never 
felt  the  gag.  There  will  never  be  real  freedom  and  independence 
in  this  country  until  this  tyranny — never  attempted  against  us  by 
th 3  mother  country — shall  be  effectually  ended. 

101.— ABRAHAM  LIXCOLX. 

The  true  character  of  Mr.  Lincoln  will  be  written  fifty  or  a  hun 
dred  years  hence.  Fanatic  impressions  will  give  place  to  knowl 
edge.  Those  who  approve  his  principles  and  acts  seek  to  make 
him  a  second  Washington — greater  than  any  President,  except  the 
Father  of  his  country,  and  free  from  speck  or  blemish  ;  while  those 
w  10  approve  of  neither  will  assign  him  a  subordinate  position, 
among  the  lowest  occupied  by  any  chosen  President.  A  few  un 
questionable  facts  connected  with  him  will  be  referred  to,  leavino* 

.1  /  O 

impartial  history  to  set  all  things  right. 

He  was  born  in  Kentucky,  February  12, 1809.  His  education 
was  limited.  During  the  Black  Hawk  "War,  in  1832,  he  became 
captain  of  a  volunteer  company  in  Illinois,  and  served  three 
ironths  ;  then  run  for  the  State  Legislature,  and  was  beaten,  lie 
then  opened  a  country  store,  but  did  not  succeed  well  as  a  trader, 
lie  was  appointed  postmaster  at  New  Salem,  and  began  the  study 
of  the  law,  and  was  admitted  to  practice  in  1836,  and  settled  in 
Springfield  in  1837.  In  1834,  '36,  '38,  and  '40,  he  was  elected 
to  the  State  Legislature  as  a  Whig.  In  1846  he  was  elected  to 
Congress,  and  served  two  years,  and  made  three  speeches.  In  the 
first,  he  attempted  to  show  that  our  Government  was  wrong  in 
claiming  the  Rio  Grande  as  the  western  boundary  of  Texas,  and 
that  the  ground  on  which  General  Taylor  won  his  first  two  victories 
belonged  to  Mexico.  In  this  speech,  as  between  us  and  Mexico, 
lie  occupied  grounds  similar  to  those  assumed  by  the  Federalists 
as  between  us  and  Great  Britain.  The  object  of  this  speech  was 
io  disparage  President  Polk,  and  to  convict  our  Government  of 
being  in  the  wrong  and  the  aggressor  against  Mexico.  His  sec 
ond  was  principally  occupied  in  assailing  a  message  of  President 
Polk,  giving  the  reasons  why  he  had  not  signed  the  Harbor  and 


260  DEMOCRACY    IN   THE    UNITED    STATES. 

River  Improvement  Bill  sent  to  him  near  the  close  of  the  previous 
session,  and  in  trying  to  uphold  the  exploded  internal  improve 
ment  doctrine  of  Mr.  Adams.  His  third  speech,  made  after  the 
nominations  of  Taylor  and  Cass  for  the  presidency,  was  devoted  to 
landing  the  former  and  condemning  the  latter.  In  1849  he  sought 
to  be  made  United  States  Senator,  but  was  defeated  by  General 
Shields.  In  1858  he  sought  the  same  office,  but  was  defeated  by 
Mr.  Douglas.  It  was  during  this  last  canvass  that  Mr.  Lincoln, 
in  reply  to  questions  put  him,  said,  "  I  do  not  now,  nor  ever  did, 
stand  in  favor  of  the  unconditional  repeal  of  the  Fugitive-Slave 
Law.  I  do  not  now,  nor  ever  did,  stand  pledged  against  the  ad 
mission  of  any  more  slave  States  into  the  Union.  I  do  not  stand 
pledged  against  the  admission  of  a  new  State  into  the  Union  with 
such  a  constitution  as  the  people  of  that  State  may  see  fit  to  make. 
I  do  not  stand  to-day  pledged  to  the  abolition  of  slavery  in  the 
District  of  Columbia.  I  do  not  stand  pledged  to  the  prohibition 
of  the  slave-trade  between  the  different  States." 

Among  the  resolutions  adopted  by  the  Chicago  Convention, 
which  nominated  him  for  the  presidency,  is  the  following: 
"  4.  That  the  maintenance  inviolate  of  the  rights  of  the  States, 
and  especially  the  right  of  each  State  to  order  and  control  its  own 
domestic  institutions,  according  to  its  own  judgment  exclusively,  is 
essential  to  that  balance  of  powers  on  which  the  perfection  and  en 
durance  of  our  political  fabric  depends  ;  and  we  denounce  the  law 
less  invasion,  by  armed  force,  of  the  soil  of  any  State  or  Territory,  no 
matter  under  what  pretext,  as  among  the  gravest  of  crimes." 

The  radical  Republicans  who  profess  to  be  carrying  out  the 
sentiments  of  Mr.  Lincoln,  and  the  principles  upon  which  he  was 
elected,  will  find  it  difficult  to  reconcile  their  action  with  these  dec 
larations  which  the  public  looked  upon  as  forming  a  portion  of 
the  Republican  creed. 

Mr.  Lincoln  was  elected  President,  and  Hannibal  Ilamlin  Vice- 
President  in  I860,  and  reflected  with  Andrew  Johnson,  Vice- 
President,  in  18G4,  and  was  basely  assassinated  on  the  14th  of 
April,  in  a  theatre  in  Washington,  by  J.  Wilkcs  Booth. 

Mr  Lincoln  was  a  tall,  loosely-built  man,  with  long  features, 
dark  hair,  and  brown  eyes,  not  over-industrious,  but  fond  of  talk- 


ME.    LINCOLN    ON    HIS    WAY   TO   WASHINGTON.  261 

ing  and  telling  stories  to  amuse  others.  -  He  was  kind-hearted, 
and  more  popular  with  juries  than  judges,  being  more  inclined  to 
malvc  pithy -arid  attractive  remarks  than  to  study  and  discuss  the 
profound  logic  of  the  law.  His  illustrations  were  mainly  by  telling 
striking  anecdotes  and  stories  he  had  heard,  or  conjured  up  for 
the  occasion.  Ho  was  neither  polished  in  manners  nor  conversa 
tion.  He  pleased  many  from  his  quaintncss  and  unpretending 
manner.  In  principle,  he  was  thoroughly  anti-Democratic,  and 
believed  in  and  practised  upon  the  theory  that  the  Government  was 
a  nachine  to  be  run  for  the  advantage  of  the  favored  classes,  as 
shown  in  his  defence  of  internal  improvements  by  the  national  Gov 
ernment,  and  advocacy  of  a  tariff  for  protection,  and  his  assenting 
to  the  crude  abominations  of  the  Internal  Revenue  Bill.  But  he 
was  far  more  Democratic  in  some  things  than  those  now  control 
ling  the  destinies  of  the  nation  in  Congress,  who  have  ignored 
much  that  he  did  and  proposed,  and  are  setting  up  their  will  to 
guide  the  destinies  of  the  nation,  instead  of  following  and  carry 
ing  out  the  commands  of  the  Federal  Constitution. 

The  administration  of  Mr.  Lincoln  was  so  crowded  with 
events  that  we  shall  present  them  under  different  heads,  instead 
of  giving  a  long  article  upon  the  subject,  and  for  portions  of 
which  he  may  possibly  not  be  responsible,  although  at  the  head 
of  the  Government. 

102.— MR.  LINCOLN  ON  HIS  WAY  TO  WASHINGTON. 

On  the  11  tli  of  February,  1861,  Mr.  Lincoln  left  Springfield 
for  Washington,  and  on  his  way  made  several  addresses  to  the 
people.  At  Cincinnati,  referring  to  how  the  Kentuckians  should 
be  treated,  he  said  :  "  We  mean  to  treat  you,  as  near  as  we  pos 
sibly  can,  as  Washington,  Jefferson,  and  Madison  treated  you.  We 
mean  to  leave  you  alone,  and  in  no  way  interfere  with  your  in 
stitutions  ;  to  abide  by  all  and  every  compromise  of  the  Consti 
tution.  .  .  .  We  mean  to  remember  that  you  are  as  good  as  we — 
that  there  is  no  difference  between  us  other  than  the  difference 
of  circumstances.  We  mean  to  recognize  and  bear  in  mind  al 
ways  that  you  have  as  good  hearts  in  your  bosoms,  as  other  peo 
ple,  or  as  we  claim  to  have,  and  to  treat  you  accordingly." 


262  DEMOCRACY   IN   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

At  Columbus  lie  satd  :  "  It  is  a  consoling  circumstance,  that 
when  we  look  out,  there  is  nothing  that  really  hurts  anybody. 
We  entertain  different  views  upon  political  questions,  but  nobody 
is  suffering  any  thing." 

At  Steubenville  he  said  :  "  I  believe  the  devotion  to  the  Con 
stitution  is  equally  great  on  both  sides  of  the  river  [Ohio].  It  is 
only  the  different  understanding  of  that  instrument  that  causes 
difficulty.  The  dispute  is,  '  What  are  our  rights  ? '  " 

At  Pittsburg  he  said :  "  There  is  really  no  crisis,  except  an 
artificial  one,  such  a  one  as  may  be  gotten  up  at  any  time  by  tur 
bulent  men,  aided  by  designing  politicians."  He  spoke  of  a  pro 
tective  tariff,  and  that  he  was  in  favor  of  "  adequate  protection 
being  extended  to  the  coal  and  iron  of  Pennsylvania  and  the  corn 
of  Illinois." 

At  Cleveland  he  said  :  "  I  think  there  is  no  occasion  for  any 
excitement.  The  crisis,  as  it  is  called,  is  altogether  an.  artificial 
crisis.  ...  It  has  no  foundation  in  fact.  It  was  '  argued  up,'  as 
the  saying  is,  and  cannot  be  argued  down.  Let  it  alone,  and  it 
will  o;o  down  itself." 

These  extracts  show  that  at  that  time  he  thought  there  was 
no  danger  of  a  serious  character,  and  that  the  only  disturbing  ele 
ment  was  upon  the  proper  construction  of  the  Constitution,  in 
volving  rights  claimed  under  it.  lie  thought,  if  let  alone,  the  ex 
citement  which  had  been  raised  up  by  argument  alone,  would  go 
down  of  itself.  In  theory  he  was  right.  In  this  respect,  his  fears 
were  less  than  those  of  Mr.  Buchanan.  If  the  difficulties,  as  they 
then  stood,  had  been  let  alone,  and  no  fuel  added  to  increase  the 
flames,  they  would  soon  have  died  out.  Standing,  unaided  and 
alone,  South  Carolina,  which  had  passed  a  secession  ordinance  on 
the  20th  of  December,  1860,  could  have  accomplished  nothing,  and 
must  have  abandoned  her  insane  and  childish  attempt  to  sustain 
herself  alone  out  of  the  Union.  The  world  would  have  laughed 
at  her  as  a  disobedient,  rebellious  child,  whose  greatest  punish 
ment  would  be  in  letting  her  alone  until  reason  and  sound  sense 
should  compel  her  to  cling  to  the  old  national  family  with  more  wis 
dom  and  in  better  temper,  as  anticipated  by  Mr.  Buchanan.  But 
other  States,  ere  long,  joined  South  Carolina,  and  eventually  the 


ME.   LINCOLN   ON   HIS   WAY  TO    WASHINGTON.  263 

whole  South  went  with  her.  They  wei»e  encouraged  to  do  this 
by  neither  division  of  the  Democratic  party.  On  the  12th  of  Xo- 
vember,  1860,  in.  an  address  to  the  Democrats,  the  writer,  aftei 
denouncing  secession  and  predicting  the  futility  of  its  purposes 
and  final  defeat,  said  : 

"  We  now  see  what  divisions  and  false  issues  have  done,  and 
can  do.  Let  us  from  this  hour  devote  ourselves  to  organizing 
upon  the  great  issue  of  equal  rights  of  the  States  and  of  the 
pcDple  of  each.  Let  us  invoke  our  friends  to  abandon  all  collat 
eral  and  immaterial  issues,  and  concentrate  on  this  great  and  con 
trolling  one.  The  majority  of  our  countrymen  are  with  us  upon 
it,  and  will  rally  under  our  standard,  and  success  is  certain.  The 
Federal  and  State  Governments  will  pass  from  the  hands  of  our 
enemies  to  ours,  and  we  can  redress  all  wrongs  and  restore  peace 
and  harmony  to  the  Union  and  every  part  of  it.  The  Democracy 
can  do  much  in  calling  conventions  and  solemnly  invoking  the 
sense  and  justice  of  the  people,  and  inducing  organization  and 
concerted  action,  and  by  making  individual  appeals  to  the  friends 
of  the  Union.  Our  Democratic  friends  in  the  several  States  should 
obliterate  divisions  and  join  in  the  good  work.  Every  Democrat 
h.'is  a  duty  resting  upon  him,  and  should  perform  it.  He  should 
appeal  to  the  sense  of  justice  of  those  who  have  erred,  as  brother 
does  to  brother.  Success  will  follow  such  efforts.  Let  us  begin 
tl  e  good  work  now,  and  persevere  to  the  end.  Let  us  now  pledge 
ourselves  to  one  another,  and  to  the  country,  to  be  faithful  and 
vigilant.  Let  us  call  upon  high  Heaven  to  witness  our  vow,  that 
v.  e  devote  ourselves  to  the  good  work ;  that  we  pledge  '  our  lives, 
our  fortunes,  and  our  sacred  honor'  to  use  every  exertion  possible 
to  protect  the  equal  and  just  rights  of  all  parts  of  the  Union — of 
every  State  and  citizen — to  protect  the  Constitution  and  Union 
by  all  rightful  means  while  God  shall  let  us  live." 

The  Democracy  adopted  and  sustained  these  views.  But  the 
abolition  Republicans  of  the  North  and  secessionists  of  the  South 
bad  their  respective  plans,  all  tending  to  the  same  point  from  dif 
ferent  directions,  so  managed  as  to  defeat  the  expectations  of  this 
appeal.  Mr.  Lincoln  had  told  the  people  he  would  proclaim  his 
\  iews  on  the  4th  of  March.  His  inaugural  address,  after  under- 


264:  DEMOCEACY   IN   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

going  the  manipulation  of  those  who  had  proclaimed  that  slavery 
should  be  put  down  at  every  hazard,  contained  nothing  to  repress, 
but  much  to  increase,  the  excitement  at  the  South,  and  multiply 
our  difficulties,  as  that  document  will  show.  Its  avowals  were 
calculated  to  band  together  the  dissatisfied  States  that  had  taken 
steps  to  leave  the  Union,  and  form  a  new  one,  and  secure  among 
them  concerted  action.  Mr.  Lincoln  had  said  that  the  excite 
ment  grew  out  of  difference  of  opinion  concerning  the  Constitu 
tion,  and  he  soon  showed  a  determination  to  fight  down  opinions 
opposed  to  his  own. 

103.  — MR.    LINCOLN'S   INAUGURAL    ADDRESS,  AND    ITS    CONSE 
QUENCES. 

Mr.  Lincoln's  inaugural  contained  the  following,  which,  stand 
ing  alone,  would  have  been  satisfactory  to  the  South,  if  fairly 
carried  out  in  practice : 

u  Apprehension  seems  to  exist  among  the  people  of  the  South 
ern  States,  that  by  the  accession  of  a  Republican  Administration 
their  property  and  their  peace,  and  personal  security,  are  to  be  en 
dangered.  There  has  never  been  any  reasonable  cause  for  such 
apprehension.  Indeed,  the  most  ample  evidence  to  the  contrary 
has  all  the  while  existed  and  been  open  to  their  inspection.  It  is 
found  in  nearly  all  the  published  speeches  of  him  who  now  ad 
dresses  you.  I  do  but  quote  from  one  of  those  speeches  when  I 
declare  that  '  I  have  no  purpose,  directly  or  indirectly,  to  interfere 
with  the  institution  of  slavery  in  the  States  where  it  exists.  I 
believe  I  have  no  lawful  right  to  do  so,  and  have  no  inclination  to 
do  so.'  Those  who  nominated  and  elected  me  did  so  with  a  fall 
knowledge  that  I  have  made  this,  and  many  similar  declarations, 
and  have  never  recanted  them.  And  more  than  this,  they  placed 
in  the  platform  for  my  acceptance,  and  as  law  to  themselves  and 
me,  the  clear  and  emphatic  resolution  which  I  now  read  : 

"  '  Resolved,  That  the  maintenance  inviolate  of  the  rights  of 
the  States,  and  especially  the  right  of  each  State  to  order  and 
control  its  own  domestic  institutions  according  to  its  own  judg 
ment  exclusively,  is  essential  to  that  balance  of  power  on  which 
the  perfection  and  endurance  of  our  political  fabric  depend,  and 


265 

we  denounce  the  lawless  invasion  by  armed  force  of  the  soil  of 
any  State  or  Territory,  no  matter  under  what  pretext,  as  among 
the  gravest  of  crimes.7  I  now  reiterate  these  sentiments." 

He  further  stated : 

"  It  follows  from  these  views,  that  no  State,  upon  its  own  mere 
motion,  can  lawfully  get  out  of  the  Union ;  and  that  acts  of  vio 
lence,  within  any  State  or  States,  against  the  authority  of  the 
United  States,  are  insurrectionary,  or  revolutionary,  according  to 
circumstances. 

"  This  country,  with  its  institutions,  belongs  to  the  people  who 
inhabit  it.  Whenever  they  shall  grow  weary  of  the  existing  gov- 
errment,  they  can  exercise  their  constitutional  right  of  amending 
it,  or  their  revolutionary  right  to  dismember  and  overthrow  it.  I 
cannot  be  ignorant  of  the  fact  that  many  worthy  and  patriotic 
citizens  are  desirous  of  having  the  national  Constitution  amended. 

O 

"  One  section  of  our  country  believes  slavery  is  right  and  ought 
to  be  extended,  while  the  other  believes  it  wrong  and  ought  not 
to  be  extended.  This  is  the  only  substantial  dispute.  The  fugi 
tive-slave  clause  of  the  Constitution,  and  the  law  for  the  suppres 
sion  of  the  foreign  slave-trade,  are  each  as  well  enforced,  perhaps, 
as  any  law  can  ever  be  in  a  community  where  the  moral  sense  of 
the  people  imperfectly  supports  the  law  itself.  The  great  body 
of  the  people  abide  by  the  dry  legal  obligation  in  both  cases,  and 
a  few  break  over  in  each.  This,  I  think,  cannot  be  perfectly 
cured." 

These  extracts  exhibit  pledges  made  before  election  which  are 
inconsistent  with  much  said  during  the  canvass,  and  which  have 
been  doubly  violated  by  subsequent  practice.  The  Republican 
party,  and  Mr.  Lincoln  himself,  have  acted  the  exact  reverse  of 
their  professions.  Why  this  reference  to  the  right  of  revolution  ? 
Why  tell  the  country  that  the  annoyances  suffered  by  the  South 
concerning  slavery  cannot  be  cured?  Why  omit  to  point  out 
necessary  amendments  to  the  Constitution  to  avoid  the  admitted 
evils?  Why  hold  out  no  hope  to  the  excited  South  except  in 
resolution?  Why,  in  organizing  his  administration,  did  he  treat 
eleven  Southern  States  as  if  they  formed  no  portion  of  the  Union  ? 
Why  fill  his  Cabinet  almost  exclusively  with  open  enemies  of  the 
12 


266  DEMOCRACY   IN   THE   UNITED    STATES. 

South,  and  why  place  at  its  head  the  destroyer  of  the  old  Whig 
party  and  the  inventor  and  propagator  of  a  law  higher  than  the 
Constitution  as  a  means  of  destroying  the  slave  institutions  of  the 
South — the  man  who  labored  to  precipitate  a  conflict  between  the 
North  and  South,  as  a  means  of  abolition  ?  There  can  be  but  one 
satisfactory  answer,  and  that  is,  that  he  designed  to  inaugurate  a 
civil  war  as  the  only  possible  means  of  abolishing  slavery  in  the 
South.  The  Albany  Evening  Journal  avowed  that  this  was  the 
object  of  his  nomination  and  election,  and  we  cannot  doubt  that  it 
truly  stated  the  intention  of  those  controlling  the  Republican 
party. 

104.— FIRING  THE  FIRST  GUN. 

The  first  gun  was  fired  by  order  of  Governor  Fickens  from  a 
sand-hill  battery  in  Charleston  Harbor  at  the  steamer  Star  of  the 
West,  sent,  by  advice  of  General  Scott,  to  succor  Major  Anderson 
in  Fort  Sumter  on  the  9th  of  January,  1861,  when  that  vessel, 
failing  in  its  object,  returned  to  New  York.  But  these  shots  were 
comparatively  harmless  and  did  not  fire  up  the  masses  North  or 
South.  Major  Anderson  did  not  return  the  fire,  believing  it  to 
have  been  unauthorized.  If  the  war-steamer  Brooklyn  had  been 
sent,  as  Mr.  Buchanan  desired,  and  but  for  the  advice  of  General 
Scott  would  have  been  sent,  she  would  have  entered  the  harbor, 
defended  herself,  and  relieved  Fort  Sumter.  The  rickety  side- 
wheel  steamer  Star  of  the  West  proved  perfectly  useless  for  the  oc 
casion.  The  first  gun  by  the  secession  Confederacy  w'as  discharged 
upon  Fort  Sumter  on  the  12th  of  April,  1861,  and  the  fight  was 
continued  thirty-three  hours,  when  it  was  surrendered.  This 
battle  fired  every  heart  in  the  nation  North  and  South,  arousing 
the  secessionists  in  support  of  their  new  Confederacy,  and  all 
others  against  it,  and  in  favor  of  defending  the  Constitution  and 
the  old  flag.  The  whole  North  and  West  were  aroused  as  one 
man,  and  all  felt  like  hazarding  every  thing  in  defence  of  the 
Union.  But  different  motives  actuated  partisans  on  both  sides. 
Secession  was  flagging,  and  would  have  soon  cooled  and  died  off, 
but  for  invigorating  excitement.  It  operated  upon  many  of  them 
like  laughing-gas,  and  they  leaped  for  joy.  But  there  were  those 


FIRING   THE   FIRST   GUN.  267 

among  them  who  felt  sad,  and  feared  the  final  conclusion.  At 
the  North  and  West,  where  all  seemed  moving*  one  way,  two 
widely-differing  motives  existed  at  the  bottom.  The  abolition 
ist?,  and  those  who  espoused  their  cause  as  well  as  their  party 
though  claiming  to  be  shocked  and  outraged  at  the  folly  and 
cri  ne  of  the  South,  secretly  rejoiced,  as  they  saw  that  the  conflict 
would  make  abolitionism  a  fixed  fact,  if  not  as  to  the  whole  Union, 
at  least  as  far  as  it  should  be  preserved.  But  the  Democracy  and 
the  conservatives  of  the  old  Whig  party  felt  and  meant  what  they 
said,  and  were  ready  to  peril  lives  and  fortunes  in  the  preserva 
tion  of  the  Union  which  they  loved  and  cherished.  Thus  all 
parties  North  and  West  agreed  in  action  but  not  in  motive,  while 
at  the  South  there  was  much  halting,  there  being  many  real 
Union  men  there,  and  others  doubting  the  policy  of  secession,  and 
fearing  the  result.  The  true  Union  men  seldom  changed  their 
real  feelings,  even  when  forced  into  the  army  by  conscription  or 
otherwise,  though  some,  in  consequence  of  our  unnatural  and  un 
wise  policy,  and  the  unnecessary  tyranny  practised,  were  led  to 
the  belief  that  the  war  was  prosecuted  for  other  than  the  avowed 
object,  and  then  ceased  to  aid  the  Union  cause,  though  occa 
sionally  one  turned  against  it.  It  is  not  our  purpose  to  justify 
what  occurred,  but  to  show  the  fatal  effect  of  bad  management  and 
how  it  destroyed  Union  feeling  and  spread  secession  sentiments. 
"We  give  extracts  from  a  letter  written  by  one  of  Tennessee's  pur 
est  and  best  and  most  widely-known  men — Hon.  Cave  Johnson — 
under  date  of  March  2,  1862,  not  as  a  justification  of  any  acts  or 
opinions,  but  to  show  the  consequences  that  naturally  flowed  from 
misgovernment : 

"In  our  elections,  February  9,  1861,  the  majority  against 
secession  exceeded  sixty-four  thousand,  and  that  after  the  election 
of  Lincoln,  with  the  declaration  in  his  mouth,  that  the  whole 
country  must  be  free  or  slave  territory.  But  after  the  proclama 
tion  making  war  upon  the  States,  and  his  other  acts  disregarding 
the  Constitution,  and  sustained  with  so  much  apparent  unanimity 
in  the  North,  at  the  elections  in  June,  the  majority  against  the 
Union  was  over  fifty-nine  thousand,  and  I  believe  if  a  new  elec 
tion  could  be  held  to-morrow,  the  majority  against  it  would  dou- 


268  DEMOCRACY    1ST   THE    UNITED   STATES. 

ble  that  number.  So  intense  is  the  feeling  against  the  North, 
and  the  prospect  of  independence  so  much  diminished  by  their 
recent  victories,  that  a  reunion  with  England  or  France,  as  colo 
nies,  has  become  a  frequent  subject  of  conversation,  and  would 
secure  the  approbation  of  the  Southern  people  so  soon  as  the 
hope  of  success  is  lost.  I  cannot  but  think,  when  looking  over 
the  foreign  papers,  that  England  and  France  would  rejoice  to  see 
each  section  exhausted  in  prosecuting  the  war,  under  the  hope  of 
the  restoration  of  their  colonies,  or  the  certain  diminution  of  the 
power  of  the  United  States,  which  they  have  dreaded  ever  since 
the  days  of  General  Jackson,  or  fearing  the  rivalship  of  the  United 
States  in  the  commerce  and  trade  of  the  world.  A  restoration 
of  the  old  Union,  under  any  possible  oppression,  I  believe  to  be 
impossible.  ...  I  have,  as  you  know,  always  been  a  Union 
man,  and  violently  opposed  to  secession,  and  was  selected 
as  the  Union  candidate  in  my  old  district,  because  of  my  long 
and  determined  hostility  to  nullification  and  secession,  and  re 
ceived  a  unanimous  vote  in  it.  I  would  have  spent  my  last  dol 
lar  in  its  defence,  or  cheerfully  yielded  up  my  life  for  the  preser 
vation  of  the  Union.  But  when  I  saw  the  President  and  Congress 
had  set  aside  the  Constitution,  and  under  the  tyrant's  plea,  neces 
sity  ;  that  all  security  for  property  was  gone — the  habeas  corpus 
suspended — citizens  arrested  and  imprisoned  without  warrant, 
upon  the  suspicion  of  the  Secretary,  or  other  inferior  officers — 
public  trials  refused — the  civil  authorities  made  subordinate  to 
the  military — martial  law  declared  by  their  generals,  under  which 
I  am  now  writing,  and  for  which  I  Avould  be  sent  to  Fort  War 
ren,  if  deemed  of  sufficient  importance — I  could  not  but  believe 
that  our  people  acted  rightly  in  seeking  protection  elsewhere  than 
in  such  a  Union.  What  could  I  promise  them  under  such  men 
as  Lincoln  and  Seward,  backed  by  two  or  three  hundred  thou 
sand  troops  and  a  subservient  Congress  ?  When  Andy  Johnson 
with  fifty  or  a  hundred  thousand  men  is  sent  here  for  our  Gov 
ernor,  and  Fremont  is  sent  to  abolit  ionize  Eastern  Tennessee  and 
Western  Virginia,  can  there  be  a  doubt  that  subjection  and 
the  abolishment  of  slavery  are  the  main  objects  of  the  war  ?  If 
it  shall  end  in  subjugation  and  emancipation,  it  will  be  succeeded 


FIRING   THE   FIEST    GUN.  2 GO 

by  horrors,  such  as  the  world  never  witnessed — more  destructive 
to  the  black  than  the  white  race,  exceeding  in  cruelty  the  bloody 
scenes  in  Paris  in  '89,  and  our  great  and  glorious  Union  will 
share  the  fate  of  Rome;  military  chieftains,  ambitious  and  un 
principled,  will  be  found  to  play  the  part  of  Caesar,  Lepidus,  and 
Anthony,  partition  our  country  into  Northern  and  Southern,  in 
stead  of  Eastern  and  Western  empires,  and  the  South,  the  beau 
tiful,  sunny  South,  will  be  divided  out  to  the  Goths  and  Vandals, 
who  conquer  us,  and  the  people  be  made  slaves  of  petty  tyrants, 
like  the  Italians  for  hundreds  of  years,  and  for  what  ?  Because 
wo  thought  we  could  not  live  in  peace  with  our  brethren  of  the 
North  !  or  because  they  would  not,  and  enslave  us  that  they  might 
emancipate  the  blacks  !  or  because  they  wished  our  beautiful 
country  to  reward  their  Germans  for  conquering  us. 

"  I  am  now  too  old  and  infirm  to  engage  in  any  business,  and 
si:  in  my  room,  day  after  day,  meditating  on  the  misfortunes 
which  have  fallen  on  my  country,  until  my  heart  sinks  with  its 
future  prospects." 

This  shows  the  operation  of  a  good  man's  mind  when  reflect 
ing  upon  passing  events.  Whether  it  took  the  correct  view,  is  not 
the  question  ;  which  is,  did  it,  in  fact,  thus  view  things  ?  This  can 
not  be  denied.  The  Union  men  South  were  led  to  take  the  views 
Ii3re  presented — some  of  which  seem  prophetic — and  many  acted 
accordingly.  It  was  the  acts  of  Mr.  Lincoln  and  a  Republican  Con 
gress  that  changed  the  Southern  Union  sentiment  to  what  this 
letter  states.  The  acts  that  produced  this  change  were  nearly  or 
quite  all  of  them  wholly  unnecessary,  and  might  have  beeh  avoid 
ed,  and  the  Union  sentiment  in  the  slave  States  not  only  pre 
served,  but  strengthened  and  confirmed.  But  this  the  abolition 
ists  and  real  secessionists  did  not  desire.  It  would  have  defeated 
the  real  purposes  of  both.  They  wanted  war  and  disunion,  and 
what  has  since  followed,  though  destructive  to  the  interests  of  all 
sections  of  the  country.  Both  of  these  parties  were  glad  when 
the  first  gun  was  fired. 


270  DEMOCEACY   IN   THE    UNITED   STATES. 


105.— THE  SUSPENSION  OF  THE  WRIT  OF  HABEAS  CORPUS. 

Every  instance  of  the  violation  of  the  Constitution,  or  of  rights 
of  persons  or  property,  was  heralded  at  the  South  as  evidence 
that  remaining  in  or  defending  the  old  Union  would  subject  every 
body  to  the  same  or  like  wrongs.  These  violations  of  the  Consti 
tution,  and  not  the  right  of  secession,  became  the  popular  ques 
tions,  and  were,  in  the  state  of  the  public  mind  there,  promptly 
decided  against  their  authors,  and  the  Government  under  which 
they  acted.  The  authorized  suspension  of  the  great  writ  of  free 
dom,  by  army  officers — the  habeas  corpus,  by  Mr.  Lincoln,  not 
being  permitted  by  the  Constitution,  saddened  many  a  Northern 
heart,  and  gave  a  new  impulse  to  secession.  Mr.  Lincoln,  as 
President,  had  no  authority  to  suspend  this  writ,  and  much  Jess 
to  confer  that  power  upon  others,  as  provided  in  his  proclama 
tion  of  May  10,  1861.  Neither  Mr.  Lincoln  nor  his  advisers, 
seem  to  have  understood,  or  at  least  to  have  regarded  the 
Constitution  on  this  subject.  That  instrument  forbids  the  suspen 
sion  of  this  writ "  unless  when  in  cases  of  rebellion  i  co;  invasion 
the  publicsafety  may  require  it."  The  "Constitution  does  not  di- 
rect\vllc^shaTl^de!enrTinTlhe  question  of  safety,  or  who  shall  make 
the  suspension.  It  is  certain  that  this  power  is  not  included  in 
the  enumeration  of  executive  powers.  We  are  necessarily  thrown 
back  upon  the  condition  of  things  in  England,  at  the  time  our 
Constitution  was  framed,  to  understand  what  those  preparing  it 
really  contemplated.  There  is  no  difficulty  in  this.  The  writ  of 
habeas  corpus  in  England  was  designed  to  restrain  and  control  the 
Executive  power — to  prevent  it  from  shutting  up  men  and  refusing 
them  the  privileges  of  a  trial,  at  the  will  of  the  executive  power. 
This  was  a  restraint  upon  the  executive  authority,  which  could 
only  be  removed  by  a  law  of  Parliament,  where  the  legislative 
and  executive  authority  act  together  in  making  laws.  Executive 
authority  in  England  never  suspended  the  privilege  of  the  writ  of 
habeas  corpus,  nor  was  it  ever  suspended  except  by  law7,  or  ever 
authorized  to  be  suspended  by  any  authority,  except  that  of  Par 
liament.  Tt  never  occurred  to  the  English  people  that  it  might  be 


SUSPENSION   OF   THE    HABEAS    CORPUS.  271 

conferred  upon  military  men  down  to  the  lowest  grade.  But  this 
was  done  here  by  executive  authority. 

The  laws  of  Congress  require  the  United  States  judges  to 
issue  this  writ  when  applied  for  in  cases  where  they  have  jurisdic 
tion.  Every  State,  it  is  probable,  has  laws  to  the  same  effect. 
Mr.  Lincoln's  administration  avoided  the  submission  of  the  ques 
tion  of  his  authority  to  suspend  the  judiciary,  by  permitting 
or  directing  those  having  prisoners  in  custody  from  making  any 
re~urn,  or  obeying  the  judicial  authority  requiring  their  produc 
tion.  The  Chief  Justice  of  the  United  States,  in  John  Merryman's 
case,  issued  a  writ  of  habeas  corpus,  which  was  not  obeyed  by  Gen 
eral  Cadwallader,  and  his  communication  to  Mr.  Lincoln  on  the 
subject  was  unheeded.  Other  cases  of  defying  the  right  of  the 
wit  of  habeas  corpus  occurred.  The  Constitution  and  laws  in  this 
respect  were  ignored  by  Mr.  Lincoln,  his  Cabinet,  and  all  others 
acting  under  his  authority. 

Congress,  by  its  Act  of  March  3,  1863,  in  conferring  the  power 
iDon  the  President  of  suspending  the  writ  of  habeas  corpus,  fur 
nished  conclusive  evidence  that  it  did  not  believe  the  President 
hid  a  right  to  exercise  that  power.  If  they  believed  he  could 
suspend  the  privilege,  why  pass  an  act  authorizing  it  ?  The  judges 
of  the  Circuit  Court,  for  the  District  of  Columbia,  expressed  the 
opinion  that  they  had  the  right  to  issue  the  writ  of  habeas  corpus, 
whereupon  the  law  creating  the  court  was  repealed  by  Congress, 
and  approved  by  Mr.  Lincoln,  and  they  were  thus  legislated  out 
of  office,  and  more  subservient  men,  under  a  new  law,  put  in  their 
places. 

This  Act  of  March  3,  1863,  required  a  list  of  "state  or  po 
litical  prisoners,"  to  be  furnished  to  the  judges  of  the  United 
States  courts,  and  authorized  the  discharge  of  those  not  indicted 
within  a  certain  time.  But  this  part  of  the  Act  was  never,  in 
fact  and  good  faith,  executed.  It  contained  other  provisions  not 
authorized  by  the  Constitution — that  whatever  should  be  done  in 
the  name  of  the  President,  whether  right  or  wrong,  legal  or  ille 
gal,  or  constitutional  or  not,  should  be  a  defence  against  all  suits 
;md  proceedings  claiming  otherwise.  Although  the  Constitution 
authorizes  nothing  of  the  kind,  it  being  in  conflict  and  in  deroga- 


272  DEMOCRACY    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

tion  of  that  instrument,  still,  there  was  no  means  of  resisting  it. 
Laws  tending  to  and  in  favor  of  liberty  were  not  enforced  during 
Mr.  Lincoln's  administration,  by  whatever  name  called,  or  however 
authorized.  Military  and  executive  tyranny  had  perfect  sway, 
even  beyond  what  he  was  permitted  by  his  Cabinet  to  know — but 
if  not,  he  was  guilty  with  them,  of  impeachable  offences.  He 
acted  without  their  knowledge,  and  they  acted  without  his. 

The  great  writ  of  civil  liberty — the  habeas  corpus — was  stran 
gled  by  executive  usurpation,  in  the  land  of  liberty  and  law,  and 
Congress  confirmed  it,  and  passed  laws  to  protect  all  wrong-doers 
who  acted  under  his  authority.  But  Congress  had  no  power  to 
confer  authority  on  him  or  any  one  else  to  suspend  it.  The  suspen 
sion  of  this  writ  must  be  a  legislative  act.  Congress  is  responsible 
to  the  people  for  the  laws  they  make.  A  New  York  Legislature 
passed  a  bill  concerning  schools,  which  was  to  become  a  law,  if 
a  majority  of  voters  should  so  determine  at  the  election,  which 
they  did,  but  the  courts  held  that  the  Legislature  could  not  dele 
gate  any  of  their  powers,  but  that  they  must  take  the  responsi 
bility  of  passing  all  laws.  The  suspension  of  the  habeas  corpus 
is  not  among  the  executive  powers,  nor  does  the  Constitution 
authorize  the  delegation  of  legislative  powers.  Those  framing 
that  instrument,  when  seeking  to  restrain  the  suspension  to  two 
cases  only,  were  not  likely  to  provide  that  officers  of  the  army,  or 
any  one  else,  should  become  judges,  to  determine  whether  the  pub 
lic  safety  required  it.  It  was  not  intended  to  commit  the  question 
of  individual  liberty  to  the  very  persons  designed  to  be  restrained 
from  suspending  it,  to  protect  their  own  wrongful  acts  in  arresting 
and  imprisoning  a  man.  And  yet  thousands  of  military  officers, 
probably,  were  authorized  even  to  represent  the  Executive  in  this 
usurpation.  In  what  age  of  the  world  before  did  usurpation  of 
power  delegate  to  others?  Anciently  men  were  thrust  into  dun 
geons,  and  detained  there  for  years,  with  no  means  of  redress. 
The  executives  then  did  precisely  what  was  done  in  this  country 


during  the  late  civil  war. 


The  fourth  amendment  of  the  Constitution  is  in  these  words  : 
"The  right  of  the  people  to  be  secure  in  their  persons,  houses, 
papers,  and  effects,  against  unreasonable  searches  and  seizures, 


SPIES    AND   SECRET-SEKVICE   AGENTS.  273 

slif.ll  not  be  violated,  and  no  warrants  shall  issue,  but  upon  prob 
able  cause,  supported  by  oath  or  affirmation,  and  particularly 
describmg  the  place  to  be  searched,  and  the  persons  and  things 
to  be  seized." 

Notwithstanding  this  provision,  arrests  were  made  upon  mere 
suspicion,  without  oath  or  affirmation,  and  without  the  person 
arrested  being  informed  of  the  cause.  Colonel  Berrett,  the  mayor 
of  Washington,  was  thus  arbitrarily  arrested,  and  imprisoned  in  a 
Northern  fort,  without  any  accusations  being  made  known  to  him. 
IT  3  was  finally  released,  upon  condition  that  he  resigned  the 
in  -lyorship.  An  immense  number  of  men  were  thus  unlawfully 
imprisoned  in  various  parts  of  the  country,  without  ever  knowing  for 
w  jat.  As  the  habeas  corpus  was  suspended,  they  had  no  means 
of  relief.  These  illegal  arrests  and  imprisonments  tended  to  em 
bitter  the  public  mind  against  the  Administration,  and  con 
tributed  very  strongly  to  prolong  the  war.  The  secession  leaders 
at  the  South,  in  their  appeals  to  the  people  for  men  and  means, 
p  Dinted  to  the  unlawful  suspension  of  the  habeas  corpus,  and  the 
illegal  imprisonments  by  the  Administration,  to  show  that  liberty 
was  crippled  among  us;  and  that  the  only  means  of  avoiding 
such  misgovernment  and  tyranny  was,  to  sustain  the  war  on  their 
s  de  to  the  end.  Good  Union  men  at  the  South  were  led  to  be 
lieve  that  liberty  was  at  an  end  among  us,  and  for  that  reason 
ceased  to  espouse  our  cause. 

106.— SPIES  AND  SECRET-SERVICE  AGENTS. 

Recently  it  has  become  common  to  cite  "necessity"  as 
authority  for  whatever  is  done,  not  authorized  by  the  Constitu 
tion  ;  and  it  is  often  quoted  as  justifying  its  direct  infringement 
by  legislation  and  executive  acts  not  authorized  by  it.  For  seven 
years  this  country  has  been  filled  with  spies  and  secret  agents, 
authorized  neither  by  the  Constitution  nor  laws.  The  country 
has  swarmed  with  them ;  and  they  have  dogged  the  steps  of 
private  individuals  and  public  officers,  from  the  President  down 
to  mere  clerks  and  tide-waiters.  The  State  and  War  Departments 
have  been  the  principal  sources  of  these  agencies.  The  depart 
ments  have  employed  spies  upon  each  other,  upon  the  President 


274  DEMOCRACY   IN   THE   UNITED    STATES. 

and  Congress,  and  the  latter  upon  all  branches  of  the  Govern 
ment,  as  well  as  upon  private  individuals.  Whatever  may  be 
said  or  done  by  any  person,  which  can  be  tortured  into  any 
thing  objectionable  to  the  Republican  standard  of  thought  or 
action,  is  reported  with  amplifications,  sufficient  to  authorize 
arrest,  and  perhaps  imprisonment.  These  spies  and  agents  are, 
confessedly,  selected  from  the  rogues  and  vicious  classes  of  society, 
upon  the  principle  of  "  setting  a  rogue  to  catch  a  rogue."  Their 
fidelity  depends  upon  the  temptation  offered  to  overcome  it. 
They  inform  when  most  advantageous,  and  are  silent  when  silence 
is  most  profitable.  Being  destitute  of  elevated  character,  they 
have  nothing  to  lose,  but  every  thing  to  gain,  from  turning  their 
situation  to  account.  As  they  promise  much  to  secure  employ 
ment,  they  must  manifest  zeal,  and  make  a  show  of  efficiency,  it 
being  immaterial  with  them  whether  their  accusations  are  just  or 
groundless.  These  spies  and  secret  agents  are  unauthorized  by 
law,  and  not  required  by  honesty  and' sound  policy.  All  men  arc 
authorized  to  talk  and  act  when  they  violate  no  law ;  but  these 
creatures  are  designed  to  prevent  or  punish  it.  They  travel  all 
over  the  country,  at  Government  expense,  and  enter  all  circles 
open  to  them,  to  learn  the  thoughts  and  wishes  of  public  men  in 
regard  to  their  relations  in  public  and  private  life.  No  place  is 
so  sacred  as  to  be  beyond  their  impertinence,  and  no  character 
too  elevated  to  prevent  them  from  attempting  its  destruction. 
The  inquisitorial  espionage  in  other  countries  is  authorized  by 
their  laws,  but  here  it  is  in  violation  of  law,  and  the  rights  and 
privileges  of  the  people.  Mr.  Seward  says  secret  agents  are  neces 
sary  in  the  formation  of  treaties ;  buthe  has  paid  out  thousands 
of  public  money  under  that  pretence,  where  nothing  was  accom 
plished.  It  is  a  convenient  way  of  cancelling  the  claims  of  par 
tisans  without  opening  his  own  pocket.  These  spies  and  secret 
agents — they  are  the  same  thing — are  convenient  when  black 
mail  is  to  be  levied,  or  adversaries  are  sought  to  be  punished. 
They  supply  from  their  own  mint  all  the  coinage  which  truth  docs 
not  furnish.  No  people  can  be  truly  free  where  this  pernicious 
system  has  a  foothold.  Men  must  think  and  talk  in  conformity 
with  some  unknown  standard,  or  be  subject  to  the  tyranny  of  some 


SPIES   AND    SECKET-SERVICE   AGENTS.  275 

unknown  power,  which  makes  unpublished  rules,  and  convicts  and 
executes  under  them  in  secret.  If,  when  no  public  law  is  violated, 
it  is,  criminal  to  talk,  it  must  be  equally  so  to  think  without  con 
forming  to  the  unknown  standard.  Unpublished  laws  cannot  be 
enforced,  and  a  legislative  body  which  should  seek  to  establish 
the  contrary  rule  could  never  be  reflected.  Unknown  and  un 
published  regulations  of  an  executive  department  do  not  stand 
upon  as  reliable  a  ground,  because  no  one  is  authorized  to  make 
them.  No  human  logic  can  justify  this  spy-system,  and  no  depart 
ment  will  venture  openly  to  ask  for  the  means  of  perpetuating  it. 
Such  institutions  are  anti-Democratic,  and  are  unknown,  except 
under  Republican  .rule.  Instead  of  affording  the  people  protec 
tion,  they  constitute  a  complete  system  of  unmitigated  tyranny. 
Tyrants  alone  appeal  to  necessity  as  a  source  of  power,  and  to 
secrecy,  to  prevent  the  people  from  understanding  its  concealed 
workings. 

Among  these  spies  and  secret  agents,  it  is  to  be  regretted  that 
women  have  been  employed,  and  many  of  them  of  the  most 
abandoned  character.  Not  unfrequently  they  have  practically  led 
mon  "  into  temptation  "  and  caused  the  acts  which  were  made  the 
grounds  of  accusation.  Some,  whose  characters  were  above  sus 
picion,  became  active  agents  in  drawing  men  on,  if  not  to  criminal 
acts,  to  indefensible  conversation,  which,  being  rendered  in  its 
worst  sense,  was  seized  upon  to  gratify  feelings  of  hostility  and 
revenge.  Men  of  high  and  pure  characters  have  been  the  subjects 
of  female  entanglements,  with  more  or  less  success,  according  to 
the  depth  of  the  plot  and  the  skill  of  the  actors.  When  these 
false  women  once  enter  dominions  where  they  do  not  belong, 
those  rightfully  there  are  never  safe  either  from  misrepresentation, 
persecution,  or  black-mail.  No  elevation  or  purity  of  character  is 
any  protection  from  such  snares.  Innocent  acts  are  so  arranged 
as  to  suggest  criminality,  and  half-seen  transactions  are  so  con 
trived  as  to  seem  criminal.  Even  children,  in  their  simple  hon 
esty,  are  made  to  see  what,  standing  by  itself,  would  be  wrong, 
when,  if  they  had  been  permitted  to  see  the  whole,  would  prove 
a  meritorious  matter.  None  but  tyrants  resort  to  such  means  of 
acquiring  that  information  which  their  necessities  require.  These 


276  DEMOCRACY    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

tilings  arc  not  matters  of  police,  because  the  institution  and  regu 
lation  of  police  are  provided  for  by  laws  enacted  by  the  represent 
atives  of  the  people.  They  are  simply  matters  of  unauthorized 
tyranny,  wliicli  infringe  upon  the  rights  of  the  people  and  blacken 
the  character  of  the  Government.  They  were  wholly  unknown 
here  until  the  Republicans  came  into  power. 

107.— THE  TRIAL  OF  CIVILIANS  BY  MILITARY  COMMISSIONS. 

One  of  the  charges  against  the  King  of  Great  Britain,  contained 
in  the  Declaration  of  Independence  was,  that  he  had  rendered  the 
civil  authorities  subordinate  to  the  military.  Precisely  the  same 
thing  was  true  in  relation  to  Mr.  Lincoln.  The  civil  authorities 
were  made  by  him  entirely  subordinate  to  the  military.  The  law 
of  the  land  was  not  the  rule  of  action.  It  was  found  in  the  will 
of  the  military.  Even  the  capital  was  subjected  to  a  military  gov 
ernor,  who  made  laws  from  day  to  day  as  he  went  along.  Mili 
tary  tribunals  were  established  in  various  places  to  try  civilians 
not  charged  with  offences  against  the  military  statutes.  The 
Constitution  confers  authority  upon  Congress  to  provide  for  gov 
erning  the  Army.  This  extends  only  to  those  employed  in  the 
service,  and  to  punishing  spies  who  seek  to  destroy  it.  All  others 
are  protected  by  express  provisions  calculated  to  secure  speedy 
and  fair  trials  in  the  courts  of  law.  It  is  expressly  provided  that 
"  No  person  shall  be,  held  to  answer  for  a  capital,  or  otherwise  in 
famous  crime,  unless  on  a  presentment  or  indictment  of  a  grand 
jury  .  .  .  nor  be  deprived  of  life,  liberty,  or  property,  without  due 
process  of  law.  ...  In  all  criminal  prosecutions,  the  accused  shall 
enjoy  the  right  to  a  speedy  and  public  trial  by  an  impartial  jury 
of  the  State  .  .  .  and  to  be  informed  of  the  nature  and  cause  of 
the  accusation,  and  be  confronted  with  the  witnesses  against  him." 

These  provisions  were  continually  violated  throughout  the  war 
by  arresting  and  trying  persons,  not  in  the  military  service,  before 
military  commissions  instituted  and  organized  under  executive 
authority  alone.  The  case  of  Colonel  North,  Colin,  and  Jones, 
was  one  of  this  class.  They  were  employed  in  the  New  York 
Slate  Agency  at  Washington  to  aid  and  protect  the  interests  of 
those  in  the  Army  from  that  State,  including  voting  and  return- 


TRIALS    BY   MILITARY    COMMISSION.  277 

ing  the  soldiers'  votes  under  a  New  York  statute.  They  were 
Democrats.  Jones  had  served  as  an  officer  in  the  Army  until 
taken  prisoner,  when  his  health  failed. 

They  were  charged  with  forging  and  altering  soldiers'  votes, 
which  was  an  offence  under  New  York  laws.     They  were  arraigned 
before  a  military  commission  and  put  upon  their  trial;  bail  was 
rciused.     Their  counsel  raised  the  question  of  jurisdiction,  cited 
the  Constitution,  and  claimed  that  if  an  offence  had  been  com 
mitted,  it  was  one  against  New  York  laws,  which  Federal  authority 
w;is  incompetent  to  enforce.     On  the  part  of  the  Government  it 
w  is  contended  that  the  offence  was  one  that  impaired  the  effi 
ciency  of  the  military  service,  because  to  cheat  the  soldier  out  of 
his  vote  by  alteration  or  forgery  would  make  him  discontented 
and  angry,  and  then  he  would  not  perform  his   duty  faithfully 
when  subject  to  such  feelings.     The  commission  held  that  they 
]ucl  jurisdiction  and  proceeded  with  the  trial.     It  commenced 
j  ist  before  the    election  in  1864,  and  continued  into  January, 
1S65,   when,  there  being  no  evidence  whatever  to  sustain  the 
charges,  they  were  acquitted.     Colonel  North  was  discharged  on 
the  26th  of  January,  and  told  to  leave.     Colin  and  Jones  were 
detained  until  the  8th  of  February,  when  they  were   ordered  to 
leave  the  Old  Capitol  Prison.     Prior  to  their  leaving,  Mr.  Stanton, 
tiie  Secretary  of  War,  had  repeatedly  told  members  of  Congress 
iind  others,  that  they  were  convicted  and  sentenced  to  State  prison 
for  life,  while  the  record  itself  shows  that  all  three  were  acquitted 
on  the  4th  of  January,  1865.     The  proceedings  were  filed  in  the 
Judge-Advocate-General's  office  on  the  24th  of  January,  the  day 
that  Colonel  North  was  discharged.     There  has  never  been  any 
explanation  in  relation  to  keeping  these  men  in  prison  so  long 
after  they  were  acquitted,  or  why  Cohn  and  Jones  were  not  set 
free  when  North  was.     But  it  is  known  that  great  efforts  were 
made  to  induce  Conn's  friends,  who  were  rich,  to  pay  large  sums 
for  his  pardon  and  discharge,  and  one  Republican  did  derive  some 
advantao-c  from  them  on   one  occasion.     But  better  advice  was 
followed  afterward,  and  all  offering  services  were  bluffed  off.     The 
arrest  of  these  three  men  was  made  to  aid  in  Mr.   Lincoln's  re 
election  by  creating  the  belief  that  the  Democrats  were  engaged 


278  DEMOCRACY   IN   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

in  great  frauds.  The  expectation  was,  that  the  trial  could  be  had 
and  the  accused  convicted  before  the  election.  It  was  claimed 
on  the  part  of  the  Government  that  the  trial  could  be  finished  in 
two  days,  and  the  application  of  their  counsel,  for  subpoenas  to 
bring  witnesses  from  New  York  to  prove  their  good  character,  was 
vehemently  resisted,  but  when  granted,  so  that  the  trial  could  not 
be  completed  until  after  the  election,  then  the  Judge  Advocate 
ceased  to  press  the  trial  and  the  case  was  postponed  at  his  instance, 
several  times,  amounting,  in  all,  to  between  thirty  and  forty  days. 
He  went  to  New  York  City,  and  had  men  brought  there  from 
various  parts  of  the  State,  and  some  other  places,  who  were  secret 
ly  examined,  to  try  and  find  out  something  to  the  disadvantage 
of  the  accused,  but  he  failed.  When  Jones  was  first  arrested,  the 
Judge  Advocate  put  on  citizen's  dress,  took  a  stenographer  with 
him,  and  called  on  him  and  pretended  to  believe  Jones  was  inno 
cent,  and  got  him  to  talk  over  things  which  Jones  had  said  were 
true,  and  he  would  swear  to  them.  The  Judge  Advocate  pre 
tended  to  believe  Jones  had  been  badly  treated,  merely  to  draw 
him  out.  He  and  his  stenographer  departed.  The  latter  drew 
out  a  statement,  garbled  and  false,  which  the  former  published  on 
the  day  the  trial  commenced  as  the  sworn  confession  of  Jones.  It 
was  so  in  form,  although  he  had  never  seen,  read,  signed,  or  sworn 
to  it.  This  false  statement — for  the  stenographer  was  put  under 
oath,  produced  his  notes,  and  proved  it  to  be  so — went  through 
the  land  as  a  startling  confession  of  crime.  This  stenographer  is 
said  to  be  employed  frequently  in  the  State  Department  to  take 
down  conversations,  and  has  figured  as  a  witness  on  the  President's 
impeachment,  to  prove  what  he  said  in  public  on  certain  occa 
sions.  This  pretended  confession  was  offered  and  received  in  evi 
dence  against  all  the  accused,  notwithstanding  the  proof  by  the 
party  preparing  it  was  clear  and  complete  that  it  was  in  several 
respects  untrue  and  deceptive.  If  a  conviction  had  taken  place 
before  the  election,  there  is  good  reason  to  believe  that  it  was  ex 
pected  to  lay  the  foundation  for  arresting  Governor  Seymour,  who 
had  appointed  Colonel  North  as  State  Agent,  and  also  sundry 
Democratic  leaders,  before  the  election,  charging  that  they  were 
implicated  in  the  affair,  and  thereby  produce  a  whirlwind  of  ex- 


THE    EARLY   AVOWED    OBJECTS    OF    THE   WAR.  279 

citoment  which  could  not  be  resisted.  This  would  have  rendered 
the  election  of  the  Republican  tickets  everywhere  a  matter  of 
certainty.  Bold  and  unyielding  efforts  of  the  counsel  of  the  ac- 
cused  defeated  these  purposes. 

Since  this  "trial,  a  case  came  before  the  Supreme  Court  of  the 
Uiiitcd  States  from  Indiana — Exparte  Milligan,  4  Wallace,  2 — in 
volving  the  authority  to  establish  these  military  tribunals  for  try 
ing  persons  not  in  or  connected  with  the  military  service.  That 
court  held  that  they  were  unauthorized  by  the  Constitution,  and 
had  no  jurisdiction  whatever  over  such  persons.  This  military 
ty.-anny  tended  to  spur  up  the  secessionists  to  fight  on,  and  thus 
prolonged  the  war.  They  were  told  that  if  the  Union  was  re 
stored,  they  would  be  thus  dealt  with,  regardless  of  the  Constitu 
tion  and  laws,  which  was  believed. 

108.— THE  EARLY  AVOWED  OBJECTS  OF  THE  WAR. 

When  Sumter  was  taken,  the  whole  North  and  West  felt  and 
promptly  resented  the  blow.  The  South  avowed  their  object  to 
lni,  as  it  really  was,  to  secure  a  separate  and  independent  sover 
eignty,  where  her  peculiar  institutions  should  not  be  the  subject 
of  condemnation  and  continuous  controversy.  They  mistakenly 
thought  they  could  have  a  republic  without  perpetual  political  con 
tests,  and  where  rival  interests  would  cease  to  produce  vexa 
tious  conflicts.  Even  during  the  short  life  of  their  Confederacy, 
painful  contests  sprang  into  existence,  and  sometimes  weakened 
its  efficiency.  At  the  North,  there  was  a  seeming  common  ob 
ject  and  purpose  in  view,  but  which  did  not  really  exist.  Mr. 
Lincoln  sometimes  acted  with  one  branch  of  his  party,  and  at 
others  with  the  other  branch,  whose  purposes  were  wholly  distinct 
mid  conflicting.  This  acting  first  with  one  branch,  and  then  con 
forming  to  the  other,  has  occasioned  so  much  question  as  to  his 
truth  and  sincerity,  that  it  has  been  damaging  to  his  reputa 
tion,  and  justly  so.  For  a  long  period  after  the  commencement 
of  the  war,  both  he  and  Congress  distinctly  avowed  that  their  sole 
object  was  to  put  down  the  rebellion,  and  restore  peace  and  har 
mony  to  the  Union.  In  his  proclamation  of  April  15,  1861,  Mr. 
Lincoln  said : 


280  DEMOCEACY   IN   THE   UNITED    STATES. 

"  I  appeal  to  all  loyal  citizens  to  favor,  facilitate,  and  aid  this 
effort  to  maintain  the  honor,  integrity,  and  the  existence  of  our  na 
tional  Union,  and  the  perpetuity  of  popular  government,  and  to  re 
dress  wrongs  long  enough  endured." 

In  that  of  May  3,  1861,  he  said: 

"  Whereas  existing  exigencies  demand  immediate  and  adequate 
measures  for  the  protection  of  the  national  Constitution,  and  the 
preservation  of  the  national  Union,  by  the  suppression  of  the  in 
surrectionary  combinations  now  existing  in  several  States  for  op 
posing  the  laws  of  the  Union  and  obstructing  the  execution  there 
of,  to  which  end  a  military  force,  in  addition  to  that  called  forth 
by  my  proclamation  of  the  15th  of  April,  in  the  present  year,  ap 
pears  to  be  indispensably  necessary." 

On  the  9th  of  May,  1862,  General  Hunter  issued  a  proclama 
tion,  in  which  he  said :  "  Slavery  and  martial  law  in  a  free  country 
are  altogether  incompatible;  the  persons  in  these  three  States, 
Georgia,  Florida,  and  South  Carolina,  heretofore  held  as  slaves, 
are  therefore  declared  forever  free." 

Mr.  Lincoln,  by  his  proclamation  of  May  19,  1862,  thus  annuls 
General  Hunter's  proclamation : 

u  I,  Abraham  Lincoln,  President  of  the  United  States,  pro 
claim  and  declare,  that  the  Government  of  the  United  States  had 
no  knowledge,  information,  or  belief,  of  an  intention  on  the  part 
of  General  Hunter  to  issue  such  a  proclamation,  nor  has  it  yet 
any  authentic  information  that  the  document  is  genuine.  And 
further,  that  neither  General  Hunter,  nor  any  other  commander  or 
person,  had  been  authorized  by  the  United  States  to  make  procla 
mations  declaring  slaves  in  any  State  free ;  and  the  supposed  proc 
lamation,  now  in  question,  whether  genuine  or  false,  is  altogether 
void  so  far  as  it  respects  such  declaration." 

It  will  be  remembered,  when  Fremont  in  Missouri  granted  free 
dom  papers  to  slaves,  Mr.  Lincoln  disavowed  the  act,  and  forbade 
its  repetition.  The  retirement  of  Mr.  Cameron  from  the  War 
Department  was  understood  to  have  been  occasioned  by  his  mak 
ing  very  strong  recommendations  in  favor  of  compulsory  abolition 
in  one  of  his  reports.  He  went  beyond  what  Mr.  Lincoln  thought 
right  and  politic,  and  in  conflict  with  his  own  oft-expressed  views. 


THE    EARLY    AVOWED    OBJECTS    OF   THE    WAR.  281 

Mr.  Stanton  was  appointed  on  the  ground  that  his  views  more 
nearly  conformed  to  those  of  Mr.  Lincoln  and  the  resolution  of 
Congress. 

In  his  proclamation  declaring  General  Hunter's  to  be  void, 
Mi.  Lincoln  quotes  the  following  resolution,  which  he  had  pre 
viously  recommended  Congress  to  pass  : 

"  Resolved,  That  the  United  States  ought  to  cooperate  with 
any  State  which  may  adopt  a  gradual  abolition  of  slavery,  giving 
to  such  State  pecuniary  aid,  to  be  used  by  such  State  in  its  discre 
tion,  to  compensate  for  the  inconveniences,  public  and  private, 
produced  by  such  change  of  system." 

He  said,  "  The  change  it  contemplates  would  come  gently,  as 
the  dews  of  heaven,  not  rending  or  wrecking  any  thing." 

In  his  proclamation  of  the  22d  of  September,  1862,  he  says, 
c'  I  do  hereby  proclaim  and  declare,  that  hereafter,  as  heretofore, 
the  war  will  be  prosecuted  for  the  object  of  practically  restoring 
tl  e  constitutional  relation  between  the  United  States  and  each  of 
the  States  and  the  people  thereof,  in  which  States  that  relation  is, 
or  may  be,  suspended,  or  be  disturbed." 

Congress,  in  July,  1861,  passed  the  following  resolution,  with 
two  dissenting  votes  in  the  House,  and  five  in  the  Senate  : 

"Resolved,  That  the  present  deplorable  civil  war  has  been 
forced  upon  the  country  by  the  disunionists  of  the  Southern  States, 
now  in  arms  against  the  constitutional  Government,  and  in  arms 
around  the  capitol;  that  in  this  national  emergency,  Congress, 
banishing  all  feelings  of  mere  passion  or  resentment,  will  recollect 
only  its  duty  to  the  whole  country ;  that  this  war  is  not  waged 
on  their  part  in  any  spirit  of  oppression,  or  for  any  purpose  of 
conquest  or  subjugation,  or  purpose  of  overthrowing,  or  interfer 
ing  with  the  rights  or  established  institutions  of  those  States,  but 
to  defend  and  maintain  the  supremacy  of  the  Constitution,  and  to 
preserve  the  Union  with  all  the  dignity,  equality,  and  rights  of 
the  several  States  unimpaired  ;  and  that,  as  soon  as  these  objects 
are  accomplished,  the  war  ought  to  cease." 

Here  we  have  the  legislative  and  executive  branches  pledging 
themselves  and  the  country,  that  the  object  of  the  war  was  to 
restore  the  Union,  and  not  conquest  or  interference  with  the  in- 


282  DEMOCRACY    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

stitutions  of  the  States.  The  secessionists  had  declared  that  the 
object  on  our  part  was  to  abolish  slavery  and  subjugate  the  States, 
and  these  various  declarations  were  made  to  refute  such  state 
ments,  and  to  support  and  encourage  the  Southern  Union  men, 
and,  as  far  as  possible,  weaken  the  rebellion.  The  country  and 
the  world  confided  in  these  declarations  of  the  President  and 
Congress.  But,  whether  sincere  or  not,  both  the  President  and 
Congress  soon  acted  inconsistently  with  these  avowals.  Other 
and  different  purposes  soon  manifested  themselves,  demonstrating 
cither  a  change  of  purpose,  or  that  their  earlier  avowals  were 
insincere  when  made. 

109.— LATER  AVOWED  OBJECTS  OF  THE  WAR. 

From  the  beginning,  the  abolition  branch  of  the  Republican 
party  wished  so  to  conduct  the  war  as  to  secure  the  abolition  of 
slavery.  They  expected  and  claimed  the  aid  of  Mr.  Lincoln  for 
that  purpose.  This  branch  was  both  numerous  and  active,  and 
no  one  could  be  elected  President  whom  they  did  not  support. 
They  demanded  a  proclamation  abolishing  slavery,  and  Mr.  Lin 
coln,  without  professing  to  have  changed  his  mind  as  to  the  object 
of  the  war,  issued  one,  and  pledged  the  Government  to  protect 
the  slaves  in  their  freedom.  It  purports  to  have  been  issued 
under  his  power  as  Command er-in-Chief  of  the  Army  and  Navy,  as 
a  means  of  putting  down  the  rebellion,  while  its  natural  conse 
quences  were  to  unite  the  South  in  defence  of  their  property,  and 
to  continue  the  war  as  long  as  possible.  Southern  Union  men 
had  no  longer  any  ground  to  stand  upon.  They  could  not  longer 
deny  the  charge  that  the  object  of  the  war  was  to  interfere  with 
their  local  affairs  and  abolish  slavery.  Mr.  Lincoln  knew  that  the 
measure  could  have  no  legal  effect  within  the  lines  of  the  enemy. 
As  far  as  our  arms  went,  slaves  could  be  released  and  turned  free, 
and  all  property  be  taken  that  we  needed.  Beyond  that,  he  truly 
said  it  would  be  an  idle  matter,  having  no  more  effect  than  a  bull 
by  the  Pope  against  a  comet.  When  the  Avar  ended,  the  procla 
mation  would  be  without  effect  beyond  where  the  army  had 
actually  freed  the  slaves.  And  so  all  parties  understood  it,  when 
Congress  submitted  to  the  several  States  the  thirteenth  amend- 


ETC.  283 

merit  to  the  Constitution,  prohibiting  slavery  throughout  the 
Uii'.tcd  States.  This  was  assented  to  by  the  Legislatures  of  thirty- 
one  States,  and  has  become  a  part  of  the  Constitution.  This  was 
to  make  valid  what  was  ineffectual  under  Mr.  Lincoln's  proclama 
tion.  But  this  change  of  object  produced  two  consequences — one 
to  unite  the  South  and  prolong  the  war,  and  the  other  to  pacify 
the  abolition  branch  of  the  Republican  party,  and  unite  the  whole 
in  favor  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  renomination  for  the  presidency,  upon  a 
platform  in  which  the  abolition  of  slavery  was  a  leading  plank. 
The  nominating  convention  did  not  assume  that  the  proclamation 
had  extinguished  slavery, -but  it  proposed  to  accomplish  that  object 
by  an  amendment  of  the  Constitution.  It  will  be  difficult  to  avoid 
the  conclusion  that  the  object  of  this  change,  in  the  avowed  ob 
jects  of  the  war,  was  made  for  the  purpose  of  securing  unanimity 
in  the  Republican  party  and  the  renomination  of  Mr.  Lincoln.  It 
is  now  a  matter  of  history  that  he  was  often  made  to  yield  by  one 
branch  or  the  other  of  his  party,  by  its  assuming  an  attitude  of 
fight  if  he  did  not  comply.  In  other  words,  he  yielded  to  save 
himself  among  his  political  friends.  The  Republican  party  claimed 
to  be  the  Government,  and  then  appealed  to  the  people  to  save 
their  party  as  the  nation.  In  other  words,  disunionists  appealed 
to  the  people  to  save  the  Union. 

110.— MR.  CHASE'S  FINANCIAL  PLANS  AND  THEIR  CONSE 
QUENCES. 

Congress  did  little  more  than  register  the  financial  plans  of  Mr. 

O  O  I 

Chase.  He  was  without  any  clear  and  settled  system  of  finance. 
II  is  plans  partook  of  the  character  of  temporary  expedients  for  relief. 
Neither  the  character  of  his  mind,  nor  his  previous  training, 
specially  qualified  him  for  the  Treasury  Department.  His  ad 
visers  were  not  competent  for  their  positions.  His  first  law,  im 
posing  a  certain  amount  of  direct  taxes  upon  the  real  estate  of  all 
the  States  and  Territories,  indicated  the  intention  of  paying  as  we 
went  along,  and  had  the  merit  of  good  sense  and  of  boldness. 
This  act  was  never  executed,  but  was  postponed  from  time  to 
time,  and  is  now  dead,  without  legislation  giving  it  new  life.  Had 
it  been  executed,  and  money  drawn  from  the  pockets  of  the 


284:  DEMOCRACY   IN   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

farmers  throughout  the  Union,  it  would  have  awakened  their 
vigilance  and  overthrown  the  Kepublican  party,  a  thing  which  he 
wished  to  avoid,  if  possible.  He  had  not  the  boldness  to  ask  for 
large  loans  payable  in  specie,  but  resorted  to  Treasury  notes  of 
numerous  kinds,  having  different  times  of  maturing  and  different 
rates  of  interest,  some  bearing  compound  interest,  and  others 
none  at  all — some  receivable  for  all  dues  to  the  Government,  and 
others  not — thus  producing  unlimited  confusion,  and  these  various 
kinds  of  paper  bearing  in  market  different  values.  To  augment 
the  confusion,  the  poorer  sort  of  all  this  vast  mass  of  paper  prom 
ises  was  made  a  legal  tender  to  everybody  except  the  Govern 
ment  at  the  custom-houses,  where  gold  was  demanded  for  all 
duties  upon  foreign  imports.  The  greenback  currency  bore  upon 
it  the  pledge  of  the  Government  to  fund  it  in  a  six  per  cent,  stock, 
payable  in  not  less  than  five  nor  more  than  twenty  years.  After 
the  country  became  flooded  with  this  kind  of  paper,  on  his 
recommendation,  Congress  repealed  the  law  creating  this  pledge, 
and  the  later  issues  are  without  it.  A  five  per  cent,  loan,  having 
forty  years  to  run,  proved  a  failure,  as  people  could  do  better 
with  their  money  than  to  lend  for  that  rate  of  interest.  This 
greenback  currency  has  varied  in  value  from  thirty  to  seventy  per 
cent,  below  par.  On  the  13th  of  June,  while  he  was  yet  Secre 
tary  of  the  Treasury,  Congress  passed  a  law  declaring  it  unlawful 
to  make  contracts  on  time  for  buying  and  selling  gold,  or  for 
making  them  at  any  place  except  at  the  contractor's  ordinary 
place  of  business,  and  forbidding  the  sale  of  gold,  not  at  the  time 
in  the  actual  possession  of  the  party  selling.  This  act  sent  gold 
up  some  three  hundred  per  cent,  above  greenbacks.  The  object 
was  to  prevent  the  buying  and  selling  gold  at  the  brokers'  boards, 
and  to  compel  people  to  use  and  quote  greenbacks  at  par.  But 
it  had  exactly  the  contrary  effect.  This  unconstitutional  and 
tyrannical  act  disgraced  the  statute-book  just  sixteen  days,  when, 
by  common  consent,  it  was  repealed  two  days  after  Mr.  Chase 
went  out  of  office.  The  Republicans  seemed  to  suppose  that 
gold  could  be  put  down,  and  greenbacks  forced  up,  by  legislation. 
Under  what  clause  of  the  Constitution  they  supposed  they  derived 
power  to  prohibit  people  from  buying  and  selling  and  loaning 


285 

and  using,  or  making  bargains  concerning  gold  as  they  chose, 
they  have  not  informed  us.  They  doubtless  wished  to  protect 
their  sinking  currency.  But  it  sunk  lower  under  their  protection. 
The  effect  of  throwing  upon  the  public  hundreds  of  millions 
of  fiis  depreciated  currency  has  been  fatal  to  the  Treasury  as  well 
as  oppressive  upon  the  people.  The  creditor  interest  of  the 
coivitry  suffered  to  the  extent  that  it  was  below  par,  being  forced 
to  take  it  where  gold  was  due,  and  where  they  had  parted  with 
property  at  gold  prices,  or  perhaps  gold  itself.  The  effect  upon 
the  Treasury  was  to  nearly  double  the  demands  upon  it,  as  every 
thing  bought  for  the  war  commanded  nearly  double  price.  Con 
gress  has  shown  its  appreciation  of  this  fact  by  raising  its  own 
salaries  from  three  to  five  thousand  dollars  per  annum,  and  largely 
adding  to  the  salaries  of  various  employes  of  the  Government. 
Of  the  nearly  three  thousand  millions  of  acknowledged  public  debt, 
about  one-half  of  it  is  the  fruit  of  Mr.  Chase's  financial  measures 
in  ailing  the  country  with  depreciated  paper.  The  soldier,  when 
paid  in  gold,  could  buy  two  barrels  of  flour  with  a  month's  pay, 
bu1;,  under  this  mischievous  system,  it  would  seldom  buy  more 
thfin  one.  The  effect  was  the  same  upon  all  purchases  made  by 
th (5  Government,  Loans  payable  in  gold  could  have  been  taken 
throughout  the  war  at  par.  But  if  not,  it  would  have  been  far 
better  to  negotiate  them  at  a  discount  than  to  resort  to  depreci 
ated  paper,  and  pay  double  prices  for  everything,  and  thus  double 
our  public  debt.  This  policy  has  given  us  a  currency  that  cannot 
be  used  by  our  navy  on  any  foreign  station,  or  by  our  foreign  min 
isters,  or  consuls,  or  for  making  purchases  abroad,  or  paying  the 
expenses  of  foreign  travel,  and  is  one  which  the  Government  will 
not  take  for  almost  a  half  of  our  revenue.  Our  ministers  abroad, 
receiving  the  same  salaries  as  other  officers  at  home,  in  effect  re 
ceive  from  thirty  to  fifty  per  cent.  more.  It  will  buy  that 
much  more  anywhere.  The  eighteen  thousand  paid  to  our  minis 
ter  at  London  will  procure  more  of  the  comforts  of  life  than  the 
President's  twenty -five  thousand  paid  here  in  greenbacks.  The 
expenses  of  all  branches  of  the  national  Government  since  the 
war  have  been  largely  increased  by  the  use  of  this  depreciated 
paper.  To  the  extent  of  this  depreciation,  the  country  is  taxed 


286  DEMOCRACY   IN   THE    UNITED    STATES. 

by  means  of  this  currency.  The  legal-tender  part  of  Mr.  Chase's 
plans  has  not  a  shadow  of  authority  in  the  Constitution,  so  far  as 
it  requires  individuals  to  take  it.  It  deprives  the  people  of  their 
legal  rights  under  contracts,  whether  entered  into  before  or  after 
the  law  was  passed.  Mr.  Chase's  financial  plans  have  been  the 
means  of  not  only  needlessly  increasing  our  public  debt,  but  also  of 
unnecessarily  doubling  our  taxes.  If  a  man  dies,  his  children  can 
not  inherit  and  possess  his  property  without  paying  a  heavy  tax. 
The  country  will  not  outgrow  Mr.  Chase's  financial  bungling  in  a 
hundred  years.  His  national  bank  schemes,  the  second  chapter 
of  blunders,  we  shall  notice  elsewhere. 

Another  consequence  of  an  alarming  kind,  flowing  from  this 
depreciated  currency,  is  manifesting  itself,  creating  distrust  and 
largely  disturbing  the  public  mind.  The  Legal  Tender  Act  of 
February  25,  1862,  provided  that  greenbacks  "  shall  be  received 
the  same  as  coin,  at  their  par  value,  in  payment  for  any  loans  that 
may  be  hereafter  sold  or  negotiated,"  and  that  they  should  be 
convertible  into  a  six  per  cent,  stock  at  the  option  of  the  holder, 
which  has  been  done  to  an  immense  amount.  These  stocks  are 
held  in  various  European  countries  and  through  all  parts  of  the 
United  States.  There  has  been  unnecessarily  precipitated  upon 
the  country  the  question  whether  the  Government  shall  pay  the 
principal  of  these  stocks  in  gold  or  greenbacks,  the  bonds  gen 
erally  not  stating  how  they  should  be  paid.  The  agitators  say  that 
the  Government  only  received  greenbacks,  and  it  is  inequitable 
for  the  holders  to  ask  for  repayment  in  a  better  currency  than 
they  paid. 

To  this  it  is  answered  : 

1.  That  the  bonds  issued  are  in  the  same  form,  so  far  as  prin 
cipal  is  concerned,  as  in  all  past  loans  which  have  been  paid  prin 
cipal  and  interest  in  coin. 

2.  The  currency  of  the  world  is  gold  and  silver  coin,  and,  up  to 
the  time  of  the  Legal  lender  Act  of  1862,  such  coin  was  demand 
able  in  this  and  all  civilized  countries,  although  nothing  was  said 
about  payment  being  in  coin. 

3.  That  the  Government,  under  the  Legal  Tender  Act,  ex 
pressly    declared    that    the  greenbacks  should  be  received    the 


ETC.  287 

same  as  coin,  and  were,  of  course,  considered  as  good  when  re 
ceived. 

4.  That  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  who  represented  the 
Government  in   construing  these  loan  laws,  informed  the  public 
tlmfc  the  Government  was   bound  to  pay  the  principal  of  these 
loais  in  coin. 

5.  That  the  public,  in  loaning,  acted  under  this  construction 
as  they  had  a  right  to  do. 

6.  In  construing  these  loan  obligations,  all  the   surrounding 
circumstances  are  to  be  considered — such  as  the  past  acts  and 
practices  of  the  Government  in  paying  off  bonds,  the  forms  and 
terms  used  in  the  transaction,  the  construction  by  the  Govern 
ment  at  the  time,  and  the  conclusions  that  the  lender  would  nat 
urally  draw  from  what  passed,  and  the  subsequent  acts  of  the 
Government — to  show  its  understanding  of  the  contract. 

7.  The  act  making  greenbacks  a  legal  tender  contained  a  pro 
vision  under  which  the  holder  had  a  legal  right  to  fund  them  in  a 
six  per  cent,  stock,  having  not  less  than  five  nor  more  than  twenty 
years  to  run,  with  interest  semi-annually  in  gold.     If  greenbacks 
were  a  legal  tender  for  the  principal  of  these  bonds,  they  must 
be  of  this  exact  kind.     But  the  Government  has  repealed  this 
rk;ht   of  funding,   and  thereby  very  essentially  diminished  the 
value  of  the  greenbacks  issued  since  the  repeal.     There  is  now  no 
compulsory  way  of  obtaining  pay,  or  any  thing  for  greenbacks,  the 
act  of  March  3,  1865,  leaving  every  thing  at  the  discretion  of  the 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury. 

8.  Congress,  in  issuing  legal-tender  greenbacks  sufficient   to 
pay  off  the  bonds  not  expressly  required  by  statute  to  be  paid 
in    coin,  would  further   depreciate  them,  and  would,  therefore, 
by  its  own  act,  diminish  the  value  of  what  it  paid,  which  would 
bo  highly  unjust.     The  extent  of  the  injury  would  depend  upon 
the  extent  of  the  issue  and  depreciation. 

9.  It  is  untrue  that  all  the  stocks  issued  were  paid  for  in 
greenbacks.     Some  were  paid  for  in  certificates  of  indebtedness, 
a; id  others  in  other  obligations  of  the  Government,  and  there  are 
no   means  now  of  distinguishing  them  from  those  paid  for  in 
greenbacks.     If  it  were  legal  and  just  to  pay  greenbacks  where 


288  DEMOCRACY   IN   THE   UNITED    STATES. 

they  were  received,  it  would  be  the  height  of  injustice  to  extend 
it  to  these  other  cases. 

10.  If  equity  requires  those  who  paid  in  greenbacks  to  receive 
their  pay  in  the  same  currency,  it  would  apply  only  to  the  origi 
nal  party,  and,  like  similar  defences  to  promissory  notes  and  bills 
of  exchange,  cannot  be  applied  to  a  subsequent  innocent  holder, 
taking  in  good  faith.     The  greater  portion  of  all  these  bonds  have 
passed  into  second,  third,  and  subsequent  hands,  and,  since  the 
repeal  of  the  law  conferring  the  right  to  fund  greenbacks,  at 
prices  sometimes  as  high  as  fourteen  per  cent,  premium.     These 
prices  are  a  fair  index  of  the  depreciation  of  greenbacks,  by  tak 
ing  away  the  right  to  fund  them.     Nothing  could  be  more  unjust 
than  to  compel  those  who  bought  these  bonds  in  good  faith  at  a 
premium  to  receive  paper  depreciated  as  much  as  these  green 
backs  are  and  will  be. 

11.  This  attempt  to  avoid  the  effect  of  an  obligation  upon  a 
mere  quibble  is  unworthy  of  our  Government,  and  is  a  cowardly 
mode  of  repudiation  to  the  extent  of  the  depreciation  of  green 
backs. 

111.— MR.  CHASE'S  BANKING  SYSTEM. 

For  more  than  seventy  years  the  States  had  conferred  charters 
upon  companies  to  engage  in  the  business  of  banking,  permitting 
them  to  issue  their  notes  to  a  certain  extent,  but  requiring  them 
to  redeem  them  in  coin.  Each  State  had  made  such  provisions 
to  secure  prompt  redemption  as  it  deemed  necessary  for  the  secur 
ity  of  the  bill-holders.  These  laws  were  satisfactory  to  the  peo 
ple  of  the  different  States,  and  secured  them  a  sound  convertible 
currency,  deemed  as  good  as  gold  itself,  because  at  the  will  of  the 
holder  he  could  convert  it  into  gold.  These  banks  were  located 
wherever  business  seemed  to  require  them,  and  were  amenable  to 
the  laws  of  the  States  where  situated,  and  could  be  brought  be 
fore  their  courts  when  necessary,  with  the  same  facility  as  an 
individual.  Few  of  these  banks  had  a  political  character,  or  med 
dled  in  party  politics.  The  people  of  the  States  were  satisfied 
with  them.  In  1863  Mr.  Chase  gave  them  n  blow,  which  was 
followed  up  in  1864,  which  knocked  nearly  every  one  of  them 


289 

out  of  existence,  substituting  in  their  place  a  cumbrous  and  un 
constitutional  system  of  irresponsible  national  banks,  calculated  to 
work  in  concert  in  the  political  field.  This  act  is  a  direct  as 
sault  upon  the  dignity  and  rights  of  the  States,  and  an  attempt 
to  cripple  and  humble  them  as  members  of  the  Union.  The 
time  was  when  New  York  and  her  people  determined  when  and 
where  banks  should  be  located,  and  how  conducted,  but  now  a 
subordinate  in  the  Treasury  Department  at  Washington  decides 
these  and  many  other  things.  Formerly,  if  a  bank  refused  to 
perform  its  duty,  the  courts  of  the  State  could  compel  obedience. 
Now  the  principal  remedies  can  only  be  applied  for  at  Washing 
ton,  at  a  great  loss  of  time,  and  at  a  heavy  expense,  with  great 
uncertainty  as  to  the  result.  The  people  of  the  great  State  of 
New  York  must  now  seek  justice  in  a  corner  of  the  Treasury,  in- 
st3ad  of  demanding  it  as  a  right  in  her  courts  at  home.  The  act 
authorizes  the  appointment  of  a  Comptroller  of  the  Currency, 
who  determines  upon  applications  for  the  formation  of  banking 
associations.  It  is  expected  he  will  be  able  to  supervise  and 
keep  in  order  nearly  two  thousand  banks  scattered  from  Maine  to 
Oregon,  which  no  one  man,  or  one  hundred  can  do,  and  conse 
quently  we  see  them  smash  up  without  his  being  able  to  control 
ov  prevent  it. 

The  capital  of  these  banks  is  nothing  but  debt,  the  bonds  of 
the  Government,  which  vary  in  value  in  market  with  the  political 
breezes  which  selfish  men  put  in  motion.  These  bonds,  deposited 
with  the  Comptroller  of  the  Currency,  or  Treasurer,  bring  them  six 
per  cent,  interest  in  gold,  which  is  a  good  return  for  the  capital 
invested.  In  addition,  they  receive  from  the  Government  nearly 
the  amount  of  their  capital  in  national  currency  bills,  which  they 
loan  at  interest,  thus  making  great  profits  upon  their  capita],  be 
cause  invested  in  Government  bonds,  and  favored  by  the  action 
of  the  Comptroller  of  the  Currency.  Bonds  of  the  States,  al 
though,  as  good  or  better,  are  not  to  be  received.  These  are 

&  O  ' 

unequal  privileges,  which  none  but  the  favored  few  can  enjoy. 
The  Government  makes  these  bills  a  legal  tender  to  itself,  and 
among  the  banks  themselves,  the  same  as  greenbacks.  But  there 
is  no  way  to  compel  these  banks  to  pay  a  dollar  in  coin,  the  green- 
13 


290  DEMOCEACY   IN   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

backs  being  made  for  them  a  legal  tender,  while  their  capital  is 
exempted  from  State  taxation.  At  the  discretion  of  the  Secretary 
of  the  Treasury,  these  banks  are  made  depositories  of  public 
money,  which  has  led  to  their  having  sometimes  millions  on  de 
posit,  without  interest,  while  the  Government  pays  them  interest 
on  their  capital,  and  on  such  interest-bearing  national  securities 
as  they  choose  to  hold.  These  deposits  are  usually  invested  by 
the  banks  in  national  bonds,  so  that  the  Government,  in  legal  ef 
fect,  pays  interest  on  its  own  deposits  in  these  banks.  This  right 
to  use  these  banks  as  depositories  for  public  money  is  the  only 
pretence  of  constitutional  ground  to  stand  upon,  the  Supreme 
Court  having  held  that  Congress  had  a  right  to  create  a  cor 
poration  to  aid  in  the  fiscal  operations  of  the  Government. 
That  ruling  was  long  since  exploded,  as  the  Constitution  does 
not  authorize  Congress  to  create  an  artificial  being  in  order  to 
have  a  person  to  hold  office.  The  national  Constitution  never 
contemplated  or  authorized  any  such  thing.  It  expects  citizens, 
who  can  take  an  oath  of  office,  who  have  consciences,  and  can  be 
indicted  or  impeached,  should  hold  all  the  offices  created  under 
it.  Citizens  feel  responsibilities,  but  soulless  corporations  do  not. 
But,  if  one  artificial  being  can  be  needed  as  a  fiscal  agent,  is 
it  possible  that  nearly  two  thousand  can  be  ?  No  fair  mind 
can  pretend  it.  These  banks  were  contrived  for  a  purpose — to 
secure  political  ascendency  through  active  agents  managing 
them — to  aid  the  Republican  party  by  moving  in  phalanx — in 
concert,  when  required  to  do  so,  with  the  Comptroller  of  the  Cur 
rency  for  captain.  It  was  for  this  purpose  that  the  State  banks 
were  taxed  out  of  existence  under  the  Internal  Revenue  Law,  by  a 
ten  per  cent,  tax  upon  their  circulation,  when  none  was  imposed 
upon  that  of  the  national  banks.  Nothing  could  be  more  clearly 
unconstitutional,  or  unjust.  Institutions  closely  interwoven  with 
the  business  and  interests  of  the  country,  with  a  capital  amounting 
to  hundreds  of  millions  of  dollars,  were  all  crashed  by  one  blow, 
to  appease  the  rapacity  of  partisans,  with  no  escape  except  by  con 
forming  to  the  requirements  of  an  unconstitutional  law,  and  be 
coming  national  banks.  It  is  fortunate  for  the  country  that  some 
of  these  decline  assessments,  or  political  action,  according  to  the 


WHY   THE    WAR   LASTED    SO    LONG.  291 

•wish  of  their  creators.  If  the  capital  of  these  banks  shall  be  at 
once  paid,  as  some  propose,  in  unproductive  and  non-payable 
greenbacks,  most  of  them  must  stop,  because  their  capital 
wil  cease  to  be  productive,  and  their  profits  must  be  derived 
wl  oily  from  circulation,  which  cannot  be  kept  up,  when  the  secu 
rity  upon  which  it  rests  is  withdrawn  from  the  Government. 
When  these  national  bonds  are  all  discharged,  however  paid,  upon 
what  is  this  system  of  banking  to  rest  ?  They  are  limited  to 
twenty  years ;  what  are  we  then  to  have  in  their  place  ?  If  all 
national  bonds  are  paid  off  in  greenbacks,  when  are  they  to  be 
paid,  and  when  are  we  to  have  a  gold  currency,  or  a  paper  one 
convertible  on  the  spot  into  gold?  These  are  questions  not  to  be 
solved  by  the  provisions  of  Mr.  Chase's  law,  which  seems  des 
tined  to  form  capital  for  future  politicians  in  their  struggles  for 
power.  But  if  Justice  is  not  perverse  as  well  as  blind,  long  ere 
that  the  judiciary  will  condemn  the  whole  scheme  as  unconstitu 
tional,  null  and  void,  and  its  authors  and  their  party  will  sink  to 
ri^.e  no  more.  We  speak  of  Mr.  Chase  as  a  politician.  As  a  citi 
zen  he  receives  our  sincere  respect,  and  as  Chief  Justice  we  pre 
ferred  him  over  all  aspirants,  in  his  party,  for  that  office.  He  does 
not  disappoint  us. 

112.— WHY  THE  WAR  LASTED  SO  LONG. 

The  war  began  in  April,  1861,  and  continued  until  the  same 
month  in  1865,  a  period  of  four  years,  with  twenty-three  States, 
including  the  five  largest,  against  eleven,  three  of  them  being 
small.  There  was  no  lack  of  men  or  means,  both  being  abun 
dant,  nor  a  deficiency  of  officers  of  talent  and  experience,  nor 
want  of  courage,  fidelity,  and  perseverance,  among  the  Northern 
soldiers.  Our  large  armies  were,  in  all  respects,  the  equals  of  the 
smaller  one  of  the  secessionists.  We  had  a  large  navy  and  they 
had  none.  Our  mail  facilities  continued  as  ample  as  the)T  had 
been,  while  the  Confederates  were  nearly  without  them.  We  had 
ample  facilities  for  manufacturing  arms,  and  all  munitions  of  war, 
as  well  as  clothing,  but  theirs  were  limited.  We  had  the  advan 
tage  of  being  an  old  constitutional  Government,  fully  organized, 
having  representatives  abroad,  and  receiving  others  from  thence, 


292  DEMOCRACY   IN   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

and  ample  credit,  at  home  and  abroad,  while  their  government 
was  new  and  without  these  advantages.  'We  numbered  more  than 
two  to  their  one,  and  our  confidence  in  the  goodness  of  our  cause 
and  in  a  final  triumph  never  wavered.  Foreign  nations  as  well  as 
our  own  people  have  expressed  astonishment  at  the  long  continu 
ance  of  the  war.  The  answer  is  easy,  and  will  be  fully  confirmed 
by  history.  The  Republican  party  so  managed  as  to  invite  the  war, 
and  caused  it  to  be  conducted  and  continued  for  political  effect,  and 
especially  to  reeled  a  Republican  Administration.  It  might  have 
been  successfully  closed  in  half  the  time  consumed,  and  with  less  than 
half  the  loss  of  men,  and  with  less  than  half  the  expense,  but  for 
the  management  to  retain  political  power  in  the  hands  of  the  Re 
publican  party.  Mr.  Lincoln  and  the  Republican  party  are  respon 
sible  for  this  unnecessary  prolongation  of  the  war.  They  knew  it 
and  understood  it.  We  understand  perfectly  well  the  force  and 
effect  of  what  we  charge.  But  for  the  course  pursued  by  the  Re 
publicans  and  Mr.  Lincoln,  there  would  have  been  no  Avar.  Had 
it  ended  in  1862  or  1863,  Mr.  Lincoln  could  not  have  been  re- 
elected.  The  cry  was,  "  Let  him  finish  what  he  has  begun.  '  Don't 
swap  horses  while  crossing  a  stream.' " 

The  country  was  full  of  men  wishing  to  be  generals  with  im 
portant  commands,  though  few  were  qualified  for  them.  Most  of 
those  commissioned  were  Republican  partisans,  or  soon  became 
so,  like  Butler  and  others,  to  secure  coveted  positions.  But 
neither  Republican  nor  Democrat  was  allowed  to  accomplish  so 
much  as  to  make  him  a  prominent  competitor  with  Mr.  Lincoln 
for  the  presidency.  Fremont  entered  upon  command  in  Missouri 
with  high  hopes,  but  was  soon  withdrawn  from  it,  and  sent  into 
obscure  employment,  as  he  deserved  to  be.  Neither  McDowell, 
Pope,  Burnside,  nor  Hooker,  was  feared  as  a  rival.  Dix  was  not 
permitted  to  add  military  fame  to  his  civil  honors.  McClellan's 
star  was  too  brilliant  and  rose  too  fast.  He  arranged  a  sure  plan 
for  taking  Richmond,  and  ending  the  war.  Instead  of  sending 
McDowell,  with  his  large  force,  to  unite  and  act  with  McClellan, 
north  of  the  Chickahominy,  which  would  have  insured  success,  he 
was  sent  nearer  Washington,  leaving  the  latter  in  a  tight  place,  who 
had  to  fight  his  way  across  that  stream,  which  he  did  with 


WHY   THE    WAR   LASTED    SO   LONG.  293 

brilliant  success,  to  save  his  army.  He  solicited  an  addition  to 
his  force,  equal  to  McDowell's  command,  that  he  might  make  sure 
of  Richmond,  which  would  have  ended  the  Confederacy.  This 
was  refused.  If  he  had  actually  taken  that  city,  and  ended  the 
war,  his  chances  would  have  been  fair  for  the  presidency.  His 
command  was  recalled  from  the  Peninsula,  placed  under  the  brag 
gart  Pope,  to  add  to  the  misfortune  of  his  defeat  at  the  second 
battle  of  Bull  Run.  When  the  Confederates  made  for  Maryland, 
and  Mr.  Lincoln,  his  Cabinet,  Congress,  and  others,  were  in  a 
fright,  necessity  forced  the  recall  of  McClellan.  He  organized  the 
demoralized  army,  fought  and  won  the  battle  at  Antietam,  moved 
into  Virginia  to  cut  off  the  retreat  of  the  rebel  army,  with  fair 
prospect  of  success.  But  his  star  was  rising  too  fast,  and,  without 
any  decent  pretence,  his  command  was  taken  from  him,  and  he 
sent  to  wither  in  New  Jersey,  and  not  permitted  again  to  serve. 
Ho  must  not  end  the  war,  for  fear  he  would  be  made  President, 
to  which  all  Lincoln  officeholders  and  Congress  said,  amen  !  The 
years  1862  and  1863  had  been  worse  than  wasted,  for  we  had  lost 
many  men  and  much  money,  and  gained  nothing.  In  March, 
1864,  Grant  took  command  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  but, 
as  if  it  was  intended  to  keep  him  from  the  achievement  of  closing 
tli  e  war,  he  was  sent  by  land  to  fight  from  Washington  to  Rich 
mond,  where  he  lost  nearly  a  hundred  thousand  men,  and  much 
credit,  by  not  taking  proper  care  of  his  wounded  on  the  way. 
Grant,  in  June,  stepped  upon  McClellan's  old  ground,  but  against 
the  wishes  of  the  Administration.  If  Richmond  had  fallen  before 
the  elections  in  1864,  the  Administration  would  have  fallen,  and 
therefore  it  was  not  allowed  to  be  taken.  Sherman's  master- 
movement  of  the  war  was  too  late  to  create  apprehension.  When 
Mr.  Lincoln  was  reflected,  and  the  public  offices  all  secured  to  the 
Republican  party,  the  steps  necessary  to  terminate  the  war  were 
permitted,  and  proved  successful.  With  suitable  men  in  the  War 
Department,  and  at  the  head  of  the  army,  the  war  might  quite  as 
easily  have  ended  in  1862.  Every  thing,  from  the  recall  of 
McClellan  in  August,  1862,  from  near  Richmond,  to  Grant's  arrival 
there  in  June,  1864,  might  have  been  avoided,  and  was  a  useless 
waste  of  time,  men,  and  means.  Notwithstanding  Mr.  Lincoln's 


294:  DEMOCRACY   IN   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

occasional  expression,  of  allowing  McClellan  to  have  his  own  way, 
instead  of  permitting  it,  as  he  might,  he  went  with  the  politicians 
in  the  work  of  sacrificing  him  to  prevent  his  ending  the  war,  and 
being  made  President.  Lincoln  knew  his  great  ability,  for  he  de 
clared  to  a  visitor,  that  if  any  six  generals  of  the  army  could  be 
put  into  one  man,  he  would  not  be  equal  to  McClellan.  But  for 
the  war,  and  the  means  it  controlled,  Mr.  Lincoln  never  could 
have  been  reflected.  All  knew  it. 

There  was  another  class  of  men,  claiming  to  be  Republicans, 
who  cared  less  for  the  success  of  their  party  than  for  the  profits 
of  contracts  for  supplying  the  army  and  navy  with  things  neces 
sary  for  the  prosecution  of  the  war.  These  were  numerous  and 
active,  and  left  no  means  untried  to  prevent  peace.  Many  of  them 
rolled  up  enormous  fortunes,  and  were  important  and  useful  men 
in  defraying  the  expenses  of  the  Republican  party  at  the  elections. 
Their  advice  and  exertions  were  always  in  favor  of  whatever  would 
postpone  peace,  and  continue  their  profits.  Between  them  all,  the 
war  was  prolonged  for  years  after  it  ought  and  might  have  been 
closed,  and  history  will  establish  the  truth  of  the  reasons  which 
we  can  only  suggest,  that  the  necessities  of  the  Republican  party 
more  than  doubled  the  duration  and  expenses  of  the  war. 

113.— CONGRESSIONAL   FISHING-COMMITTEES. 

Committees  in  search  of  the  faults  of  others  were  uncommon 
in  the  better  days  of  the  Republic.  Since  the  Republicans  have 
had  control  at  the  capital,  it  has  become  a  very  important  branch 
of  business.  If  a  riot  occurs  in  New  Orleans  or  Memphis,  if  gen 
erals  are  supposed  to  have  erred  or  blundered,  a  collector  at  New 
York  cheated  or  been  cheated,  an  old  State  suspected — Maryland, 
for  example — of  adopting  an  anti-republican  constitution  before 
the  Federal  Constitution  was  adopted,  or  in  Washington  or  Jef 
ferson's  time  or  since,  or  a  murder  has  been  committed  and  ac 
complices  are  unknown,  or  a  printer  gets  too  good  a  contract  or 
none  at  all,  or  it  is  hoped  that  the  Executive  has  done  or  said 
something  wrong,  a  committee  is  at  once  appointed,  clerks  and 
stenographers  employed,  and  they  all  proceed  to  the  place  of  the 
suspected  wrong,  subpoenas  are  issued  and  witnesses  compelled  to 


CONGRESSIONAL    FISHING -COMMITTEES.  295 

attend,  a  ream  or  two  of  paper  is  used,  the  whole  matter  printed, 
and,  if  possible,  something  against  a  political  adversary  extracted 
or  at  least  made  to  look  suspicious — and  for  what?  For  no  law- 
fu1,  constitutional,  or  useful  purpose.  The  committees  have  had 
a  pleasant  trip  to  a  new  place,  seen  a  great  many  people,  have 
been  kindly  treated,  and  talked  politics — and  the  Government  has 
to  pay  a  bill  of  several  thousand  dollars.  No  legislation,  but 
much  electioneering,  grows  out  of  these  expeditions.  Sometimes 
they  sit  in  Washington,  and  at  others  go  to  the  Rocky  Mountains, 
and  at  others  look  about  the  country  generally.  These  things  are 
not  within  the  powers  or  duties  of  Congress,  and,  although  it  will 
not  be  denied  that  very  ignorant  men  get  into  Congress  and  need 
pDsting  up  and  instruction,  they  are  never  made  wiser  by  the 
doings  of  these  committees.  A  bad  feature  in  their  labors  is,  that 
they  proceed  ex  parte,  and  assail,  and  sometimes  injure,  men  by 
the  falsehoods  they  gather  and  publish.  They  seem  to  usurp  the 
functions  of  magistrates,  grand-juries,  and  courts,  without  observ 
ing  the  rules  of  law  and  regulations  applicable  to  them.  These 
fishing-trips  seem  to  serve  the  purposes  of  congressional  holidays, 
t'.ic  Government  paying  the  expenses  of  the  frolic.  Their  cost  is 
the  least  of  their  evils.  All  such  performances  are  anti-democrat- 
13  in  principle  and  in  practice,  and  the  people  should  demand 
their  discontinuance,  or  the  country  will  never  get  out  of  debt. 
They  form  a  part  of  an  espionage  system  which  a  free  people  should 
never  tolerate.  Neither  the  executive  nor  judicial  branch  of  the 
Government  dare  venture  upon  any  policy  of  the  kind,  and  still 
each  has  as  much  power  under  the  Constitution  to  apply  it  to 
Congress  as  Congress  has  to  apply  it  to  either  or  to  anybody  else. 
If  subjected  to  such  scrutiny,  the  acts  of  members  of  Congress 
would  prove  as  objectionable  as  those  they  charge  upon  the 
President  or  others.  If  all  the  caucus-room  talking  and  acting, 
the  private  consultation  in  the  rooms  of  members  and  in  other 
places,  could  be  brought  out  and  published,  the  record  would 
show  things  as  monstrous  as  any  imputed  to  the  worst  of  men. 
Why  have  not  the  Executive,  the  judiciary,  and  the  people  the 
same  right  to  invade  the  privacy  of  members  of  Congress  as  they 
have  to  intrude  upon  either  ?  True,  all  such  things  are  forbidden 


296  DEMOCEACT   IN   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

by  the  amendments  of  the  Constitution,  and  were  not  authorized 
before  they  were  made,  but  there  is  no  reason  why  Congress 
should  be  exempt  from  the  rules  it  applies  to  others.  The 
courts,  at  least,  have  grand-juries  constituted  under  the  Constitu 
tion  and  laws  to  inquire  into  all  offences  committed  in  their  coun 
ties,  but  Congress  has  no  such  agency,  and  therefore  is  not  as 
well  adapted  as  the  judiciary  to  ferret  out  the  crimes  that  have 
been  committed.  The  Executive  has  as  much  legal  right  to  send 
officials  acting  under  him  to  scrutinize  and  inquire  into  the  acts 
and  motives,  and  the  causes  of  votes  by  members  of  Congress,  as 
they  have  into  his.  "When  Congress  says,  its  object  is  to  learn 
whether  the  Executive  has  committed  an  impeachable  offence, 
it  misrepresents  its  motive.  Until  complaint  is  made,  and  a 
known  crime  committed  and  imputed  to  him,  and  Congress  called 
upon  to  cause  him  to  be  impeached,  that  body  has  no  right  to 
search  for  crime.  It  will  be  early  enough  to  examine  into  the 
matter  when  a  definite  charge  is  made  by  responsible  parties  and 
the  proof  indicated,  as  has  been  the  case  in  every  impeachment 
proceeding  since  the  Government  was  formed.  It  is  undeniably 
true  that  more  crimes  have  been  committed  by  and  before  these 
fishing-committees  than  they  have  ever  brought  home  to  others, 
and  their  motives  are  as  objectionable  as  those  they  impute  to 
others.  They  are  got  up,  intended,  and  worked  as  political  in 
quisitions,  little  better  than  the  rack,  tortures  of  religionists  in 
days  gone  by,  and  more  unauthorized.  What  right  has  the  legis 
lative  branch  to  engage  in  business  outside  of  law-making  ?  It 
cannot  control  the  world,  nor,  as  the  evidence  shows,  per 
form  that  duty  for  itself.  Crimes  against  the  national  laws  it 
should  leave  to  the  Federal  judiciary,  and  those  against  State 
enactments  to  the  judiciary  of  the  States,  and  leave  the  business 
of  President-making  and  the  general  management  of  political 
affairs  to  the  people  at  home,  acting  in  their  capacity  of  voting 
sovereigns. 

These  fishing-committees  are  not  only  unauthorized  by  the 
Constitution,  but  they  are  not  sanctioned  by  any  law  of  Congress. 
If  the  Constitution  had  clothed  them  with  power  in  general  terms 
to  make  such  investigations,  it  would  require  legislation  to  regu- 


MK.  LINCOLN'S  PLAN  OF  RECONSTRUCTION.          297 

late  the  time  and  manner  of  action,  unless  the  authority  had  been 
directly  devolved  upon  one  House  alone,  as  in  cases  of  impeach 
ment  when  properly  presented.  But  there  is  not  now  even  the 
form  of  a  legislative  act  conferring  authority  upon  one  House  to 
make  these  investigations.  In  the  absence  of  any  such  law,  from 
what  source  does  one  House  derive  its  power  to  traverse  the 
country  and  compel  the  attendance  of  witnesses  at  the  expense 
of  the  Government?  None  such  has  been  pointed  out.  It  is 
simpty  the  will  of  one  House  that  directs  the  action  taken. 
"Will,  not  based  upon  law,  is  tyranny.  If  these  fishing-committees 
must  exist,  let  the  law-making  branch  of  the  Government  provide 
by  law  for  their  appointment  and  define  their  powers  and  duties, 
and  bear  the  responsibility  of  making  such  a  law. 

Let  provision  be  made  defining  the  consequences  of  disobey 
ing  the  law,  so  that  the  people  can  understand  their  rights,  and 
govern  themselves  accordingly.  Now  the  punishment  for  disobe 
dience  is  provided  after  the  offence  is  committed,  contrary  to  the 
spirit  of  the  Constitution,  prohibiting  the  passage  of  ex  post  facto 
laws.  But  the  act  of  one  House  imposing  punishment,  where 
there  was  no  previous  statute  defining  the  offence,  has  not  even  the 
merit  of  an  ex  post  facto  law,  because  that  takes  the  vote  of  both 
Houses  and  the  approval  of  the  President.  In  cases  of  disorderly 
conduct  and  disturbing  the  proceedings  of  one  House  of  Congress, 
the  offenders  ought  to  be  punished.  But  when  and  how  the  party 
is  to  be  tried,  and  what  punishment  is  to  be  imposed,  should  be 
provided  for  by  law ;  and  if  this  is  not  done,  the  proceedings  are 
unauthorized  and  stand  upon  the  same  ground  as  the  doings  of  these 
roaming  committees.  We  are  for  a  government  of  laws,  and  not 
of  the  will  of  any  one  man  or  body  of  men,  This  is  part  of  the 
creed  of  the  Democracy. 

114.— MR.  LINCOLN'S  PLAN  OF  RECONSTRUCTION. 

The  evidence  is  abundant  that  Mr.  Lincoln  was  in  favor  of  an 
early  and  simple  mode  of  the  reconstruction  of  the  secession  States, 
but  not  of  restoration.  The  radical  portion  of  the  Republican 
party  were  deadly  opposed  to  such  liberal  views.  On  the  8th  of 
December,  1863,  he  presented,  in  a  proclamation,  "the  best  the 
13* 


298  DEMOCRACY   IN   THE   UNITED    STATES. 

Executive  can  suggest,"  a  plan  of  reconstruction,  providing  par 
don  provisions,  and  permitting  loyal  men,  not  less  than  one-tenth 
of  those  who  were  voters  at  the  beginning  of  the  war,  to  form 
new  State  governments,  offering  each  protection  against  invasion 
and  domestic  violence.  A  portion  of  the  Republicans  threatened 
to  defeat  his  renomination,  because  of  the  liberal  provisions  in  this 
proclamation,  and  thereupon  passed  a  bill  near  the  close  of  their 
session,  in  June,  1864,  providing  more  stringent  and  difficult  pro 
visions,  calculated  to  clothe  the  Republicans  in  such  States  with 
full  power  and  control  therein.  Receiving  this  within  ten  days 
of  the  adjournment,  Mr.  Lincoln,  instead  of  approving,  appended 
it  to  a  proclamation  dated  the  8th  of  July,  1864,  in  which  he  said : 
"  I  am  (as  I  was  in  December  last,  when,  by  my  proclamation,  I 
propounded  a  plan  of  restoration)  unprepared,  by  a  formal  ap 
proval  of  this  bill,  to  be  inflexibly  committed  to  any  single  plan 
of  restoration  ;  and,  while  I  am  also  unprepared  to  declare  that 
the  free  State  constitutions  and  governments  already  adopted  and 
installed  in  Arkansas  and  Louisiana  shall  be  set  aside  and  held 
for  naught,  thereby  repelling  and  discouraging  the  loyal  citizens 
who  have  set  up  the  same,  as  to  further  effort,  or  to  declare  the 
constitutional  competency  in  Congress  to  abolish  slavery  in  States," 
he  adds,  that  he  is  satisfied  with  the  plan  contained  in  the  bill, 
as  one  very  proper  plan,  and  when  the  condition  of  things  in  the 
States  should  be  satisfactory,  he  would  appoint  military  Governors, 
as  proposed  in  the  bill.  Afterward,  he  prepared  a  more  perfect 
plan,  which,  after  his  death,  was  adopted  by  Mr.  Johnson,  for 
North  Carolina,  and  published  in  his  proclamation,  dated  May  29, 
1865.  Arkansas  and  Louisiana  organized  State  governments,  un 
der  Mr.  Lincoln's  proclamation  of  December  8,  1863,  and  elected 
and  sent  members  to  Congress  from  them,  who  were  not  finally 
received  as  such.  Here  Mr.  Lincoln  and  the  Republicans  com 
menced  diverging.  His  friends  said  Mr.  Lincoln  wished  to  be 
President  of  the  whole  Union — he  had  been  only  of  a  part — aiid 
to  close  his  political  life  in  peace,  surrounded  by  a  united  and 
happy  people.  The  leading  spirits  among  his  friends,  and  who  still 
control  in  Congress,  desired  so  to  shape  things  at  the  South  that 
a  minority  of  Republicans  could  control  those  States,  and  thus,  for 


INJTJBY    INFLICTED    ON   NEGKOES.  299 

years,  perpetuate  political  power  in  tlie  hands  of  the  Republicans. 
Mi1.  Lincoln  had  less  anxiety  on  that  point  than  in  the  restoration 
of  the  Union  to  as  happy  a  condition  as  it  was  in  before  his  elec 
tion.  In  this  he  and  the  leaders  of  his  party  disagreed,  though 
generally  he  was  compelled  to  yield. 

The  Democrats  were  not  for  reconstruction,  but  restoration, 
requiring  the  States  to  recall  and  reverse  all  their  illegal  acts  grow 
ing  out  of  secession,  and,  on  taking  the  proper  oaths,  return  to 
their  constitutional  duties  in  the  Union.  Under  this  plan  of  res 
toration,  Avhich  is  what  the  Constitution  and  common-sense  de 
manded,  six  months  would  have  restored  peace,  harmony,  and 
prosperity.  Our  Christian  duty  required  us  to  forgive  the  erring 
and  wicked.  These  were  to  be  found  both  at  the  North  and  at 
the  South.  Refusing  to  do  so  will  make  them  no  better,  nor,  if 
\ve  are  Christians,  would  it  make  us  happier.  We  do  not  envy 
the  man  whose  instincts  lead  him  to  become  an  agent  or  co- 
1? .borer  of  the  keeper  of  the  bottomless  pit,  in  his  abhorred  labors 
of  punishing  those  he  may  adjudge  to  be  wicked.  The  Demo 
cratic  plan  of  restoration  was  consistent  with  the  Constitution, 
and  the  best,  Mr.  Lincoln's  the  next  best,  and  that  of  the  Republi 
cans  the  worst,  as  bad  as  it  can  be  made,  and  calculated  to  prevent 
the  restoration  of  peace,  harmony,  and  prosperity. 

115.— THE   IX JURY   INFLICTED   UPON   THE  NEGROES  BY  THE 
REPUBLICAN  MODE  OF  MANUMISSION. 

Without  considering  the  effect  upon  the  business  and  pros 
perity  of  the  South,  by  the  overthrow  of  her  system  of  labor,  the 
instant  manumission  of  the  Southern  negroes,  without  any  prep 
aration  whatever,  has  been  destructive  to  them  and  their  inter 
ests.  In  New  York,  legislation  began  on  the  subject  in  1799,  and 
was  finished  in  1817,  and  emancipation  completed  under  it  in 
1827,  by  which  time  both  whites  and  blacks  were  prepared  for  it. 
Mad  it  been  thus  progressive  at  the  South,  both  would  have  been 
affected  less  injuriously.  As  it  was  forced  upon  the  country, 
neither  side  was  prepared,  the  negroes  less  than  the  whites. 
They  had  little  or  no  education,  no  experience  in  providing  for 
themselves,  and  no  means  to  commence  with.  Even  educated 


300  DEMOCRACY   IN   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

white  men,  in  full  health,  thrown  upon  the  world,  with  large 
families,  and  without  means,  find  it  difficult  to  provide  against 
want,  even  in  prosperous  communities.  At  the  time  of  manumis 
sion,  the  South  was  not  only  destitute  of  the  means  of  living,  but 
property  there  had  been  destroyed  during  the  war,  and  those  for 
merly  rich  could  hardly  avoid  actual  starvation.  It  is  but  little 
better  yet,  the  policy  of  Congress  repressing  all  enterprise  and 
investments  by  those  who  could  control  means  if  the  country 
were  in  a  settled  state.  We  give  some  account  of  the  real  con 
dition  of  the  negroes  from  an  eye-witness.  Hon.  Cave  Johnson 
wrote,  July  30,  1865  : 

"  Seven  of  my  negro  men,  and  nine  women  and  children,  were 
seduced  or  forced  into  the  Federal  camp,  leaving  over  sixty  still 
on  my  farm,  mostly  old  men,  women,  and  children,  that  can 
scarcely  support  themselves  on  a  good  farm.  They  have  become 
so  demoralized  as  to  be  useless  to  the  owners,  and  the  only  ques 
tion  now  is,  how  to  get  clear  of  them  ?  If  turned  loose,  without 
some  provision  for  their  support,  many  of  them  must  starve. 
There  must  be  from  fifty  to  a  hundred  thousand  old  men,  women, 
and  children  in  this  State,  and  more  than  a  million  in  the  United 
States,  incapable  of  supporting  themselves  by  their  labor,  and,  if 
turned  loose,  must  become  the  tenants  of  poor-houses  or  jails. 
The  owners  will  find  much  difficulty  in  supporting  their  own  fami 
lies,  without  having  them  thrown  upon  their  hands.  .  .  .  Four 
millions  of  paupers  thrown  upon  the  country  must  produce  an 
amount  of  suffering  appalling  to  every  human  heart,  and  but  sel 
dom,  if  ever,  witnessed  in  any  age  or  country.  I  should  have 
sent  mine  off  long  ago,  but  have  not  been  able  to  buy  places  for 
them,  where  they  might  have  a  chance  for  support,  and  to  send 
them  off  without  some  such  provision  was  an  act  of  such  cruelty 
that  I  could  not  think  of  it.  The  abolitionists  give  no  aid.  But 
this  is  not  all.  They  cannot  live  in  any  comfort  in  the  same  sec 
tion  with  their  former  owners,  who  will  treat  them  as  inferiors, 
and  never  submit  to  any  thing  like  equality  in  legal  rights  and  so 
cial  claims." 

Subsequent  events  have  shown  this  picture  underdrawn.  It 
is  now  conceded  by  all  who  understand  the  matter  that  more 


[REPUBLICAN    STRUGGLE   FOE   POWER   AND    SPOILS.       301 

than  one-quarter,  and  probably  one-third,  of  all  the  negroes  manu 
mitted  have  since  perished  by  starvation,  or  disease  resulting  from 
it,  or  from  want  of  restraint.  The  old  and  young  perish  from 
want,  and  the  middle-aged  from  vice.  The  real  interests  of  the 
nea;ro  have  been  wholly  uncared  for  by  the  Republican  party  in 
their  struggle  to  use  them  in  the  South  to  continue  their  party  in 
power.  The  Southern  whites  are  so  impoverished  that  they  can 
not  provide  for  the  negroes,  and  the  latter  are  too  ignorant,  lazy, 
and  vicious  to  do  so  for  themselves.  All  this  grows  out  of  the 
manner  of  conferring  freedom  upon  that  race.  Had  that  been 
properly  managed,  there  would  have  been  but  little  suffering 
among  them,  and  both  races  would  have  been  far  better  off, 
although  the  Republican  ascendency  might  have  sooner  ended. 
It  is  not  the  happiness  of  mankind  that  this  party  seeks,  but  the 
control  of  the  Government  and  the  privilege  of  exercising  power 
over  them.  Every  interest  and  alt  means  must  yield  to  this,  what 
ever  the  result  may  be  as  to  every  thing  else.  Such  is  the  prac 
tical  result,  whatever  the  professions  may  be. 

116.— REPUBLICAN  STRUGGLE  FOR  POWER  AND  THE  SPOILS. 

No  Administration  has  equalled  that  of  Mr.  Lincoln  in  the 
number  of  its  removals  from  office.  Nor  has  any  one  come  near 
:.t  in  the  number  of  new  offices  created,  some  of  which  are  worse 
•uhan  useless,  and  scarcely  one  necessary.  In  this  we  do  not  refer 
to  the  internal  revenue  officers,  and  the  rogues  set  to  watch  them. 
A  large  number  of  the  military  appointments  and  military  agen 
cies  were  useless  to  everybody  except  those  holding  them.  This 
was  true  of  the  spies  employed  during  the  war  and  since.  Not 
content  with  the  offices  and  employments  conferred  by  and  under 
Mr.  Lincoln,  the  Republicans  have  extorted  from  Mr.  Johnson 
nearly  every  office  within  his  nomination.  Between  coaxing  and 
threatening,  and  the  Senate's  refusal  to  concur  in  his  nominations, 
scarcely  an  appointment  has  been  made  by  Mr.  Johnson,  except 
of  his  bitter  enemies  and  public  revilers. 

The  Constitution  provides  that  the  President  may  appoint, 
with  the  consent  of  the  Senate,  at  any  time,  and,  when  not  in  ses 
sion,  the  term  is  limited  to  the  end  of  the  next  session  of  the  Sen- 


302  DEMOCEACY   IN  THE   UNITED   STATES. 

ate.  No  provision  is  made,  in  terms,  concerning  who  shall  make 
removals.  But  the  Government  would  soon  be  oft'  the  track  if 
removals  could  not  be  made.  Bad  men  would  plunder  it  without 
restraint,  or  fear  of  removal,  or  punishment.  The  First  Congress 
under  the  Constitution,  when  establishing  the  Departments  of 
State,  Treasury,  and  War,  had  the  question  of  removal  under 
consideration.  Mr.  Madison,  called  the  Father  of  the  Constitution, 
took  the  lead  in  the  debate,  declaring  that  the  power  of  removal 
was  vested  in  the  President,  as  a  prerequisite  to  the  exercise  of 
the  express  power  to  appoint,  and  as  a  necessary  means  of  execut 
ing  the  conceded  power  to  "  take  care  that  the  laws  be  faithfully 
executed."  In  each  of  these  acts  provision  is  made  for  the  per 
formance  of  the  duties  of  the  office,  in  case  of  removal  of  the 
head  of  the  department  by  the  President,  thus  expressly  recogniz 
ing  the  President's  authority  to  remove.  If  this  power  did  not 
rest  with  the  President,  all  officers  appointed  by  him,  except  those 
limited  to  four  years  by  the  act  of  1820,  could  hold  for  life, 
including  members  of  the  cabinet.  The  Constitution  thus  con 
strued  in  1789,  with,  the  exception  of  Mr.  Calhoun's  attempt,  in 
1834,  to  tie  up  the  hands  of  General  Jackson,  has  been  recognized 
by  all  parties  as  authoritative,  and  been  acted  upon  by  every  Pres 
ident,  and  by  none  to  a  greater  extent  than  Mr.  Lincoln.  The 
last  Congress,  not  content  with  the  spoils  they  had  obtained  and 
could  secure  under  the  Constitution,  as  construed  for  nearly 
eighty  years  by  every  Congress  and  Administration,  and  as  acted 
upon  by  the  Senators  during  Mr.  Lincoln's  term  of  office,  passed 
an  act  to  enable  the  Senate  to  restrain  the  powers  of  the  Presi 
dent,  by  enlarging  and  conferring  upon  that  body  new  ones  un 
known  to  the  Constitution.  They  forbid  the  President  to  make 
removals  Avithout  the  consent  of  the  Senate,  and  limit  his  power 
to  suspending,  in  vacation,  until  the  Senate  shall  act,  and  if  they 
do  not  concur,  the  removed  officer  is  restored  to  office.  Under 
this  law,  passed  over  the  President's  veto,  the  Senate  not  only 
can,  but  does,  keep  all  Republicans  in  their  offices,  notwithstand 
ing  they  violate  their  duties,  plunder  the  Government,  and  per 
sonally  insult  and  refuse  to  obey  the  lawful  authority  of  the  Presi 
dent.  Men  have  been  thus  restored  who  were  known  to  have 


REPUBLICAN    STRUGGLE    FOR   POWER    AND    SPOILS.         303 

robbed  the  Government  while  in  office.  Mr.  Stanton,  the  most 
thoroughly  unpopular  and  disliked  man  ever  in  a  department,  whose 
administration  of  the  War  Department  was  characterized  by  more 
extravagances,  and  illegal  acts,  and  grosser  neglects  of  duties,  and 
w'ao  was  guilty  of  greater  contempt  and  disrespect  for  his  supe 
rior,  the  President,  than  any  of  his  predecessors  or  heads  of  de 
partments,  was  thus  sent  back  to  the  War  Department,  after  his 
suspension,  and  by  the  votes  of  Senators  who  declared,  on  the 
passage  of  this  law,  that  no  man  could  so  far  disgrace  himself  as 
to  cling  to  a  cabinet  office  against  the  wishes  of  the  President. 
This  was  done  after  it  was  known  that  Mr.  Stanton  had  declared 
the  Tenure-of-Office  Bill  unconstitutional,  and  had  advised  the 
veto,  and  promised  to  help  prepare  it.  America  has  never  been 
so  disgraced  by  such  an  example  on  her  records,  and  by  such  a 
death-like  struggle  to  retain  office.  Congress  changed  their  day 
of  meeting,  in  1867,  from  the  first  Monday  in  December  to  the 
4th  of  March,  so  that  the  Senate  should  be  constantly  in  session 
to  prevent  the  President  from  making  removals  in  vacation,  grant 
ing  commissions  which  would  ordinarily  run  to  midsummer,  1868, 
and  took  recesses,  and  adjourned  from  time  to  time,  doing  little 
business  until  the  winter  session  of  1867— '68.  The  avowed  and 
known  object  of  all  this  legislative  manoeuvring  was  to  prevent 
Mr.  Johnson  from  removing  and  making  appointments.  Among 
the  consequences  we  find  that  the  President  is  surrounded  by 
officers  endeavoring  to  thwart  him  in  the  performance  of  his 
duties,  and  suffering  their  subordinates  to  plunder  the  public  rev 
enue  before  it  reaches  the  Treasury,  and  others  to  clutch  it  after 
it  has  reached  there.  Nearly  every  civil  office  throughout  the 
Union,  and  a  large  portion  of  those  in  the  Army,  and  a  majority 
in  the  Navy,  are  filled  with  men  who  are  struggling  in  aid  of 
Congress  to  keep  the  Southern  States  out  of  the  Union  until  they 
oan  be  brought  in  through  negro  votes,  to  aid  in  continuing  the 
Republican  party  in  power.  The  good  of  the  service  is  entirely  ig 
nored.  Congress  is  now  even  proposing  to  constitute  the  Internal 
Revenue  Bureau  a  separate  department,  making  the  present  chief 
of  it  the  head  of  the  department,  giving  him  all  the  appointments, 
so  as  to  prevent  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  or  the  President 


304  DEMOCRACY   IN   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

exercising  any  control  over  it.  Such  legislation  would  disgrace 
any  government,  even  if  the  man  proposed  to  be  legislated  to  the 
head  of  the  department  was  competent  to  perform  his  duties  well. 
But  this  struggle  for  office  must,  ere  long,  end  in  disappointment. 
The  people  will  place  the  Government  in  honest  and  competent 
hands,  who  will  restore  it  to  its  former  high  character. 

117.— THE  REORGANIZATION  OF  LOUISIANA  AND  ARKANSAS,  AND 
WHAT  CAME  OF  IT. 

Mr.  Lincoln's  plan  of  restoration,  contained  in  his  proclamation 
of  December  8,  1863,  was  to  allow  one-tenth  of  the  former  num 
ber  of  voters,  if  loyal,  to  form  new  State  governments,  to  be  admit 
ted  in  place  of  the  former  ones.  The  election  of  delegates  to  a 
convention,  their  proceedings,  and  the  adoption  of  the  new  consti 
tution,  were  to  be  under  the  direction  of  a  Governor  appointed  by 
him.  Under  this  proclamation  and  that  of  General  Banks,  Louis 
iana  elected  delegates,  who  met  in  convention,  framed  a  new  con 
stitution  prohibiting  slavery,  and  submitted  it  to  the  people,  who 
approved  of  it.  Under  this  constitution  a  new  government  was 
organized  and  put  in  operation.  Under  General  Banks' s  proclama 
tion,  Michael  Hahn  had  been  elected  Governor.  At  the  election 
of  delegates  to  frame  a  new  constitution  five  members  of  Congress 
were  elected,  and  members  to  form  a  Legislature,  who  chose  seven 
electors  of  President  and  Vice-President.  The  government  thus 
authorized  was  in  operation  on  the  1st  of  January,  1865.  Two 
of  the  members  elected  to  Congress  were  admitted  and  voted  for 
Speaker.  When  the  Committee  on  Elections  ?cted  upon  their 
right  to  scats,  it  reported  in  their  favor,  but  the  report  was  not 
acted  upon.  Hahn  was  elected  by  the  Legislature  to  the  Senate 
of  the  United  States,  but  was  not  admitted  to  a  seat.  A  contro 
versy  sprang  up  concerning  the  fairness  of  the  proceedings  to  or 
ganize  the  new  government,  the  radical  Republicans  charging  fraud. 
But  the  real  cause  of  discontent  was  the  omission  in  the  constitu 
tion  of  a  provision  placing  negroes  on  an  equal  footing  with  the 
whites,  and  allowing  them  to  vote.  A  movement  to  reconvene  the 
convention  with  the  view  of  inserting  this  provision,  a  year  or 
more  after  its  work  had  been  submitted  to  and  approved  by  the 


REORGANIZATION   OF  LOUISIANA,   ARKANSAS,    ETC.      305 

people,  led  to  the  New-Orleans  riots.  Mr.  Johnson  had  approved 
of  f.nd  recognized  this  reorganization  in  Louisiana. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  year  1864,  Arkansas  framed  and  or 
ganized  a  new  government  under  Mr.  Lincoln's  proclamation  of 
December  8,  1863.  The  constitution  prohibited  slavery.  All 
the  votes  cast  were  for  the  constitution,  except  226.  There  were 
chosen  at  this  election,  in  addition  to  their  usual  State  officials, 
a  Legislature  and  three  members  of  Congress.  When  the  Legisla 
ture  convened  they  elected  Senators,  whose  right  to  seats  was  dis 
cussed  in,  but  which  never  decided  by  the  Senate.  Nor  were 
the  members  elected,  admitted  to  seats  in  the  House.  The  Legisla 
ture,  by  a  law,  disfranchised  a  large  portion  of  those  who  claimed 
to  be  voters  under  the  constitution.  Mr.  Johnson,  in  a  letter  to 
Governor  Murphy,  October  30,  1865,  said: 

"  There  will  be  no  interference  with  your  present  organization 
of  State  government.  I  have  learned  from  E.  "W.  Gantt,  Esq.,  and 
other  sources,  that  all  is  working  well,  and  you  will  proceed  and 
resume  the  former  relations  with  the  Federal  Government,  and  all 
tho  aid  in  the  power  of  the  Government  will  be  given  in  restoring 
the  State  to  its  former  relations." 

Here  was  a  State  government  in  full  operation  under  Mr.  Lin 
coln's  plan,  under  which  the  State  was  resuming  its  business  and 
prosperity.  Arkansas  and  Louisiana  confided  in  Mr.  Lincoln,  and 
ac;ed  accordingly.  He  had  not  only  proclaimed  his  plan  of  reor 
ganization  in  December,  1863,  but  had,  on  the  8th  of  July,  1864, 
reaffirmed  it  by  his  proclamation,  in  which  he  said,  "  I  am  also 
unprepared  to  declare  that  the  free  State  constitutions  and  govern 
ments  already  adopted  and  installed  in  Arkansas  and  Louisiana 
shall  be  set  side  and  held  for  naught,  thereby  repelling  and  dis 
couraging  the  loyal  citizens,  who  have  set  up  the  same,  as  to  fur 
ther  effort." 

In  both  these  States  slavery  had  been  abolished,  which  was  all 
that  had  been  previously  claimed.  The  act  which  had  been 
passed,  but  not  approved  by  Mr.  Lincoln,  required  no  more. 
Negro  suffrage  had  not  been  provided  in  any  act  of  Congress,  or 
in  the  national  platform.  Up  to  that  time  Mr.  Lincoln's  word 
had  not  only  been  the  law,  but  often  far  above  the  law,  and  sus- 


306  DEMOCRACY   IN   THE   UNITED    STATES. 

tained  by  Congress  and  the  whole  Republican  party.  These  two 
State  organizations  had  been  under  the  direction  of  his  friends, 
and  through  agents  selected  by  him.  Notwithstanding  all  these 
considerations,  these  reorganized  State  governments  have  been 
crowded  out  and  supplanted  by  military  tyrannies  instituted  under 
the  reconstruction  acts  passed  by  Congress  over  the  President's 
veto.  And  why  ?  The  reason  is  obvious.  These  State  govern 
ments  were  not  so  organized  as  to  insure  the  perpetuation  of 
power  in  the  hands  of  the  Republicans.  It  was  feared  that  a  ma 
jority  of  the  white  people,  who  knew  they  had  designedly  precip 
itated  the  war,  would  not  vote  to  continue  them  in  office.  It  was 
expected  that,  by  the  aid  of  the  Freedmen's  Bureau,  and  the  use 
of  the  military  power,  the  negroes  could  be  controlled,  and  made 
to  sustain  them  by  their  votes,  which  would  render  their  success 
certain.  For  these  reasons,  two  unobjectionable  State  govern 
ments,  organized  under  Mr.  Lincoln's  own  authority,  and  satisfac 
tory  to  all  but  radical  politicians  fearing  defeat,  and  under  which 
the  people  were  contented  and  becoming  prosperous,  were  crushed 
out,  and  all  power  placed  in  the  hands  of  those  who  rule  by  the 
sword  and  bayonet.  The  wishes  of  the  governed  and  the  pledges 
of  the  past  were  ignored  without  hesitation  in  the  effort  by  the 
Republicans  to  perpetuate  their  power.  For  this  purpose  they 
are  ready  to  make  deserts  and  waste  places  of  ten  beautiful  and 
lovely  States. 

Whether  this  shall  be  permitted  is  one  of  the  questions  for 
the  consideration  of  the  public.  Tennessee,  though  treated  by 
Congress  as  reconstructed,  is  probably  in  a  worse  condition  than 
any  other  State.  Her  old  constitution  was  amended,  and  the 
amendments  were  so  submitted  as  to  prevent  two-thirds  of  the 
people  from  voting  on  the  question  of  its  ratification.  It  is  now 
an  instrument  of  disabilities,  instead  of  one  authorizing  self-gov 
ernment  by  the  people.  lion.  Cave  Johnson,  in  a  letter  before 
referred  to,  after  enumerating  the  various  public  employments  he 
had  held,  and  stating  that  he  had  taken  no  part  in  the  rebellion, 
and  had  taken  the  oath  of  allegiance,  says:  "I  thought  I  might 
be  entitled  to  vote,  and  applied  yesterday  to  be  registered,  as  re 
quired  by  the  late  acts,  and  was  refused,  because  I  had,  in  the 


CONGRESSIONAL    CAUCUSES.  307 

spring,  refused  to  vote  for  Brownlow  &  Co.  We  suppose,  under 
the  law,  when  properly  construed,  not  fifty  voters  could  be  found 
in  this  county  out  of  2,600  voters.  Some  300  or  400  have  been 
registered  for  the  election  next  Thursday — mostly  those  who  felt 
bound  to  take  any  oaths  required  to  enable  them  to  do  business 
for  the  support  of  their  families."  This  is  the  condition  of  things 
in  Tennessee,  where  the  Constitution  and  laws  were  once  respect 
ed  and  obeyed.  It  shows  that,  where  Congress  and  the  Republican 
party  rule,  whether  reconstructed  or  not,  there  is  no  respect  for 
tho  laws  or  security  for  persons.  If  every  State  South  were  to 
become  reconstructed  under  existing  laws,  as  construed  by 
Congress  and  nearly  all  the  military  authorities,  things  would  not 
be  essentially  improved,  and  many  would  be  made  far  worse. 
Degradation  and  misery  would  be  the  rule,  and  peace  and  happi 
ness  the  exception. 

1 18.— CONGRESSIONAL  CAUCUSES. 

From  the  times  when  the  calkers,  as  they  called  themselves, 
met  privately  near  the  Boston  ship-yard,  in  Revolutionary  times, 
ca  icuses  under  some  name  have  been  held  to  select  candidates 
and  concert  plans  to  aid  in  their  election,  and  without  objection. 
But  public  meetings  are  more  dignified,  and  command  greater 
respect.  A  free  and  independent  citizen  has  a  right  to  resort  to 
either  mode  or  both.  He  represents  only  himself,  and  binds  no 
body.  In  the  old  congressional  caucuses  to  nominate  candidates 
for  the  presidency,  those  attending  did  so  in  their  individual  and 
not  in  a  representative  capacity,  and  their  acts  bound  no  oner 
nor  did  they  have  relation  to  making  laws.  Meetings  to  select 
candidates  to  be  supported  for  officers  of  a  legislative  body  are 
unobjectionable ;  but,  when  a  member  acts  in  his  representative 
capacity,  and  in  relation  to  making  laws,  the  case  is  wholly  differ 
ent.  His  constituents  elected  him  to  represent  them,  and  upon 
the  strength  of  his  own  judgment,  and  not  as  an  instrument  in 
the  hands  of  others,  to  carry  out  theirs.  They  expect  him,  if  in 
darkness  concerning  the  requirements  of  the  Constitution  and  the 
principles  of  right,  to  seek  light  to  aid  him  in  forming  conclu 
sions,  but  not  to  accept  the  will  of  others  as  the  rule  of  his  ac- 


308  DEMOCEACY  IN  THE   UNITED   STATES. 

tion,  binding  himself  to  follow  it.  No  one  votes  for  a  representa 
tive  in  either  House  of  Congress  whom  lie  supposes  lias  not  the 
capacity  to  form  an  opinion  of  his  own  upon  all  legislative  sub 
jects,  and  will  and  firmness  enough  to  act  in  conformity  with 
it.  No  one  convassing  for  either  office  ever  gave  out  that  he 
would  follow  a  leader,  or  be  bound  by  proceedings  of  a  secret 
caucus.  Should  one  do  so,  his  hopes  would  perish  beneath  a 
weight  of  contempt  and  ridicule.  A  representative  has  no  right, 
under  his  oath  of  office,  to  bind  himself  to  obey  the  will  of  others, 
right  or  wrong.  His  duty  is  to  represent  his  constituents,  and 
not  other  members,  who  do  not  represent  either  themselves  or 
their  constituents. 

For  some  years  past  these  principles  have  been  violated  by 
the  Republican  members  of  both  Houses  of  Congress.  There 
have  been  members  of  that  party  who  have  failed  to  act  out  their 
own  convictions  of  right,  and  have  yielded  their  matured  opin 
ions,  and  conformed  their  action,  to  the  dictation  of  caucuses 
held  in  secret.  Ever  since  the  Republicans  have  been  in  the 
majority  in  Congress  the  leading  measures  adopted  by  that  body 
have  either  originated  in,  or  been  considered  and  adopted  by,  a 
secret  caucus  of  Republican  members,  where  the  rule  that  the 
majority  shall  govern  and  the  minority  shall  obey  has  existed, 
and  been  rigidly  enforced.  Men,  whose  judgments  did  not  con 
sent,  have  yielded  obedience  to  the  majority,  for  fear  of  losing 
caste  in  their  own  party,  and  being  left  out  at  the  elections.  The 
various  Reconstruction  Bills,  the  Freedman's  Bureau  Bill,  the  Ten- 
ure-of-Office  Bill,  the  pending  amendments  to  the  Constitution,  the 
resolution  to  distribute  national  arms  to  certain  States,  the  propo 
sitions  for  impeachment,  were  all  first  agreed  upon  in  secret 
caucus,  where  the  duties  were  assigned  to  those  who  were  to  be 
the  leading  actors.  Those  most  swayed  by  passion  and  who  are 
most  reckless,  not  only  threaten,  but  apply  the  lash  to  carry  their 
points.  There  is  a  large  number  in  the  Senate,  and  some  in  the 
House,  who  inwardly  condemn  the  course  pursued,  but  dare  not 
violate  the  edicts  of  King  Caucus.  Speeches  have  sometimes  been 
made  against  bad  measures,  and  those  making  them  forced  by 
caucus  to  vote  against  their  own  speeches.  An  instance  of  this 


309 

occurred  when  a  late  Senator  from  Vermont  made  and  published 
an  unanswerable  speech  against  confiscation,  and  then  voted  for 
it.  Several  instances  are  known  when  the  talk  was  one  way,  and 
the  vote  the  other,  in  accordance  with  caucus  dictation.  Under 
this  system,  now  enforced,  members  cease  to  be  free  and  inde 
pendent,  and  become  the  slaves  of  party  leaders,  who  require  obe 
dience.  Probably  not  one  of  the  bills  which  Mr.  Johnson  vetoed 
would  have  finally  passed  but  for  this  secret  congressional  caucus 
system.  Had  it  not  existed,  the  Union  would  have  been  restored 
without  the  needless,  unequal,  and  oppressive  forms  of  reconstruc 
tion  projects  introduced  through  the  malign  influences  of  the 
military  and  Freedmen's  Bureau,  which  have  been  wielded  for 
political  effect,  in  aid  of  Republican  ascendency.  Ten  States, 
which  stand  admitted  by  the  laws  of  Congress,  are  denied  their 
constitutional  rights  through  the  agency  of  Republican  congres 
sional  caucuses  managed  by  political  wire-pullers  and  their  allies. 

119.— THE  FREEDMEX'S  BUREAU. 

From  the  manner  of  conferring  freedom  upon  the  Southern 
negroes,  men  who  understood  their  condition,  qualifications,  and 
characters,  predicted  they  would  not  be  able  to  take  care  of  and 
piovide  for  themselves,  but  that  very  many  would  perish  from 
w.mt.  The  voice  of  reason  and  wisdom  was  unheeded,  and  the 
negroes  were  thrown  upon  the  world,  to  manage  for  themselves, 
on  the  1st  of  January,  1863,  as  far  as  Mr.  Lincoln's  proclamation 
of  freedom  could  do  it.  On  the  3d  of  March,  1865,  Congress, 
admitting  that  the  prediction  had  proved  true,  passed  an  act,  estab 
lishing  a  Bureau  of  Refugees,  Freedrnen,  and  Abandoned  Lands, 
providing  a  commissioner  and  assistants,  placing  the  whole  under 
the  control  of  the  "War  Department.  It  authorized  the  issuing  of 
food,  clothing,  and  fuel  to  refugees  and  freedraen,  and  the  divi 
sion  among  them  of  all  abandoned  lands ;  and  the  act  was  to 
continue  uutil  the  end  of  the  war,  and  one  year  thereafter.  Where 
Congress  found  authority  to  feed,  clothe,  and  warm  the  refugees 
• — who  were  they  ? — and  four  millions  of  negroes,  is  not  stated. 
Nor  does  it  appear  whence  they  acquired  the  right  to  take  pos 
session  of  and  dispose  of  lands  which  the  owners  did  not  choose 


310  DEMOCEACY   IN   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

to  occupy.  If  the  latter  chose  to  abandon,  it  did  not  deprive 
them  of  the  right  to  resume,  nor  confer  upon  Congress  the 
authority  to  exercise  jurisdiction  over  them.  Although  the 
States,  by  virtue  of  their  powers  of  eminent  domain,  may  become 
heir  to  all  unclaimed  lands,  within  their  limits,  the  national  Gov 
ernment  possesses  no  such  power.  Even  States  cannot  enforce 
their  claim  until  officially  found — judicially  found  by  a  jury — to 
belong  to  the  State  government.  The  right  of  eminent  do 
main  cannot  possibly  exist  in  favor  of  both  the  national  and 
State  Governments  at  the  same  time.  It  existed  in  the  latter 
before  the  former  was  created,  and  was  not  surrendered  by  the 
Constitution.  There  is  not  even  the  show  of  a  law  to  confer  it. 
It  would  be  void  if  there  were.  Then,  Congress  had  no  power  to 
authorize  this  Bureau,  to  seize  abandoned  lands. 

The  Constitution  nowhere  authorizes  the  raising  of  revenue  for 

O 

the  purpose  of  feeding,  clothing,  and  warming  persons  not  em 
ployed  in  the  service  of  the  Government.  It  might  be  humane 
to  dispense  charity,  but  that  instrument  has  not  authorized  the 
Government  under  it  to  do  so  ;  and  "necessity"  could  not  confer 
or  enlarge  the  power.  This  law  filled  the  South  with  political 
paupers,  to  dispense  charity  to  others  made  so  by  the  want  of 
proper  attention  of  the  actors.  These  dispensers  of  Government 
charities  were  found  willing  political  instruments  of  those  in 
power,  and  urgently  sought  the  continuation  of  their  employ 
ments.  Congress,  intent  upon  keeping  up  excitement,  and  secur 
ing,  by  reconstruction,  Republican  States  with  their  votes,  was 
willing  to  sacrifice  any  amount  of  public  money  to  accomplish 
the  object.  The  agents  and  subordinates  of  the  Bureau  could  be 
rendered  exceedingly  useful  in  managing  public  meetings,  and 
in  performing  local  political  exploits,  and  especially  in  filling  the 
North  with  frightful  sensation  stories,  easily  coined,  and  cheerfully 
circulated  through  the  Republican  press  and  the  head  of  the 
Bureau. 

The  war  really  ended  in  the  spring  of  1 865,  but  proclamation  of 
the  fact  was  not  made  until  afterward,  and  the  act  was  about  to 
expire  by  its  own  limitation,  when  a  new  act,  passed  over  the 
President's  veto,  July  16,  1866,  extended  it  for  two  years,  with 


311 

enlarged  provisions,  and  an  additional  number  of  officials.  This 
act  essentially  increased  the  powers  of  the  Secretary  of  War  on 
this  subject,  and  designedly  placed  the  Bureau  mainly  beyond  the 
control  of  the  President.  Besides  the  expense  occasioned  by  its 
cal's  upon,  and  use  of  the  army  and  its  machinery,  this  Bureau 
costs  the  Government,  directly  in  money,  from  twelve  to  fifteen 
millions  a  year,  much  of  which  is  squandered  and  wasted  without 
any  benefit  to  the  negroes  or  the  United  States.  From  the  highest 
to  the  lowest  positions,  it  is  mainly  in  unsuitable  hands  as  (reliable 
reports  and  the  facts  show),  most  of  whom  have  little  chance  of 
thrift,  except  in  cheating,  whether  the  loss  falls  upon  the  Govern 
ment  or  the  negroes.  The  energies  of  a  large  portion  of  these 
agents  are  directed  to  two  points — obtaining  money  for  themselves, 
and  making  political  capital  for  the  Republican  party.  This  last 
act,  by  its  own  limitation,  expires  on  the  16th  of  July,  1868. 
Bi-t,  as  a  political  engine,  it  has  been  found  so  useful  to  the  Re 
publican  party,  and,  as  a  means  of  money-getting,  so  successful  in 
the  hands  of  those  selected  to  execute  it,  tbat  it  is  almost  certain 
to  be  extended. 

In  this  Bureau,  now  almost  exclusively  a  political  machine,  we 
see  absorbed  as  much  money,  annually,  as  the  whole  Government 
cost  but  a  few  years  since,  exclusive  of  the  public  debt,  and  not 
one  dollar  of  it  authorized  by  the  Constitution.  It  is  claimed  that 
the  support  of  the  negroes  became  a  "  necessity"  after  they  were 
emancipated.  This  assumed  necessity  cannot  confer  constitutional 
power,  but  it  proves  that  the  emancipation  was  not  made  in  a 
suitable  and  proper  manner.  If  it  had  been  wisely  accomplished, 
as  in  New  York,  it  would  not  have  produced  any  such  case  of 
necessity.  Congress  could  properly  propose  amendments  to  the 
Constitution  prohibiting  slavery,  but  neither  they  nor  the  Execu 
tive,  nor  both,  could  constitutionally  do  any  act  that  could  create 
any  such  necessity.  If  any  thing  done  by  the  Government,  in  fact, 
produced  such  necessity,  that  fact  proves  the  wrongfulness  of  what 
it  did.  The  fault  is  with  those  who  produced  and  continued  a  state 
of  things  occasioning  such  consequences.  The  responsibility  rests 
with  them,  and  cannot  be  lawfully  thrown  upon  the  Treasury.  The 
n co-roes  did  not  bring  their  sufferings  upon  themselves.  But  some- 


312  DEMOCEACY   IN   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

body  did  it.  It  was  not  their  former  owners,  for  they  were  op 
posed  to  their  emancipation.  It  was  not  the  Democrats,  whose 
plan  was  gradual  emancipation,  as  fast  as  the  negroes  acquired 
knowledge,  experience,  and  education,  qualifying  them  for  the 
change  and  its  consequences.  Such  an  amendment  of  the  Consti 
tution  would  have  been  quite  as  readily  adopted  by  the  slave 
States  as  the  one  which  they  were  required  to  approve,  as  a  con 
dition  of  restoration.  It  follows  that  the  responsibility  of  pro 
ducing  this  case  of  necessity — this  real  wrong  to  the  negroes,  rests 
exclusively  with  the  Republican  party,  who  in  fact  occasioned  it. 
It  may  be  asked,  "  Would  you  let  the  negroes  perish  for  want 
of  food,  clothing,  etc.,  even  if  the  fault  of  their  condition  rested 
with  the  Republicans  ?"  Certainly  not.  When  this  Freedmen's 
Bureau  Law  was  passed,  there  were  valid  laws  in  existence  in  every 
State,  made  by  the  people  of  the  States,  fully  sufficient  for  all 
needful  purposes.  The  States  were  not  only  willing  to  take  care 
of  the  negroes  within  them,  but  among  those  where  attachments 
had  existed,  as  was  very  often  the  case,  they  could  have  found 
remunerative  employment.  If  the  States  had  been  compelled  to 
support  them  without  their  working,  they  could  have  done  so  for 
little  more  than  what  the  officials  of  the  Bureau  now  cost  the  Fed 
eral  Government.  The  only  legal  emancipation  was  by  the  acts 
of  these  States,  and  if  the  consequences  even  bore  heavily  upon 
them,  they  could  not  complain,  and  would  not  have  done  so.  But 
when  among  their  old  friends,  who  treated  them  far  better  than 
these  Bureau  officials  do,  the  negroes  would  have  worked  content 
edly  and  lived  in  comparative  happiness,  without  being  any  con 
siderable  burden  upon  anybody.  But  Congress  had  its  own  policy, 
which  involved  the  ignoring  of  the  States  and  keeping  them  out  of 
the  Union  until  they  could  be  brought  in  as  conquered  provinces 
and  Republican  States,  and  this  involved  the  withdrawal  of  the 
negroes  from  the  influence  of  their  former  owners,  creating  a  feeling 
of  enmity  and  hatred  between  the  white  and  the  black  race,  giving 
the  right  of  suffrage  to  the  latter,  and  establishing  agencies  among 
them  that  would  secure  their  confidence  and  induce  them  to  vote 
only  for  Republicans.  To  secure  these  objects,  Congress  was  will 
ing  to  compel  the  white  people  of  all  the  States  to  pay  whatever 


MISTAKES    OP   THE    AMERICAN    CLEKGY.  313 

it  might  cost.  There  was  never  any  necessity  for  this  Bureau,  ex 
cept  that  created  by  the  Republican  party,  which  was  entirely 
political.  The  negroes,  if  let  alone  by  these  politicians,  would 
hf.ve  stayed  where  they  had  lived,  been  treated  kindly,  worked 
willingly,  and  have  done  much  toward  supporting  themselves, 
leaving  the  local  authorities,  as  in  other  States,  to  provide  for 
those  who  could  not  take  care  of  themselves,  and  who  had  no 
relatives  able  to  aid  them.  This  course  would  have  rendered  the 
change  in  the  labor  system  at  the  South  less  injurious  to  the  peo 
ple,  and  would  have  increased  and  cheapened  Southern  products 
in  Northern  markets.  Both  races,  and  everybody  except  Repub 
lican  politicians,  would  have  been  happier,  and  all  the  disastrous 
eiFects  of  the  war  would  have  soon  disappeared.  13ut  the  political 
necessities  of  the  Republican  party  have  caused  things  to  assume 
the  worst  possible  attitude  at  the  South,  with  no  possible  benefit 
to  any  human  being,  either  North  or  South,  except  Republican 
politicians. 

Since  the  above  was  written,  a  bill  has  been  reported,  and  will 
doubtless  pass  Congress,  continuing  this  Bureau  for  one  year  from 
tie  16th  of  July  next.  This  will  give  the  Republican  party  an 
opportunity  to  employ  it  in  aid  of  the  next  election.  It  will  dis 
pense  much  money,  but  far  more  politics.  Ten  or  fifteen  millions 
of  dollars  skilfully  applied  will  contribute  much  to  influence  the 
result.  By  the  bill  extending  the  life  of  this  Bureau,  the  whole 
power  over  it  seems  to  be  taken  from  the  President  and  placed  in 
the  hands  of  the  Secretary  of  War,  whose  willingness  and  capacity 
to  pervert  the  powers  and  duties  of  that  office  to  political  pur 
poses  cannot  be  questioned  by  those  knowing  how  they  were 
prostituted  in  1864  for  the  reelection  of  Mr.  Lincoln  and  a  Re 
publican  Congress. 

120.— MISTAKES  OF  THE  AMERICAN  CLERGY. 
Clergymen,  devoted  to  the  worship  of  the  living  God,  and  to 
the  instruction  of  the  Christian  religion,  are  beloved  and  cherished 
by  the  good,  and  command  the  respect  of  all.     It  is  when  they 
step  aside  from  their  duties,  and  in  the  name,  or  under  the  pre 
tence  of  both,  and  engage  in   other  matters   and   teach   other 
14 


314  DEMOCRACY  IN   THE  UNITED   STATES. 

subjects,  that  criticism  commences.  In  many  countries  the 
church  establishment  forms  a  part  of  the  government  machine, 
and  very  naturally  sings  its  praises,  without  much  regard  to  the 
character  and  object  of  those  engaged  in  its  management.  Where 
religion  is  supported  at  the  expense  of  the  Government,  it  natu 
rally  partakes  of  its  character  and  its  defects,  as  far  as  they  exist. 
That  religion  is  most  pure  and  beneficial  which  relies  upon  its 
own  worth,  and  the  charm  of  its  every-day  life  for  its  support,  and 
influence,  unaided  by  collateral,  selfish,  or  worldly  considerations. 
Those  clergymen  who  worship  and  adore  God  in  words  of 
truth  and  sincerity,  springing  spontaneously  from  the  heart,  and 
not  from  the  motives  of  worldly  interest,  who  truly  humble,  and  do 
not  slander  themselves  in  words  which  they  would  resent  if  spoken 
by  another ;  who  really  present  the  Christian  religion  in  a  language 
and  in  a  manner  calculated  to  charm  from  its  pure  loveliness,  and 
paint  vice  in  its  true  colors,  so  that  men  instinctively  embrace  the 
one  and  detest  the  other;  who  show  how  virtue  and  true  religion 
exalt  man,  and  vice  sinks  and  degrades  him,  so  that,  when  the 
services  are  closed,  we  resolve  to  cling  to  the  good  and  avoid  the 
bad — will  never  be  without  hearers  or  support,  or  fail  to  com 
mand  universal  respect  and  esteem  for  the  real  good  they  do  man 
kind.  A  clergyman  should  so  paint  goodness  as  to  charm  all 
who  see  the  picture,  and  make  them  resolve  to  become  really 
good.  Vice  should  be  so  exhibited  as  to  provoke  disgust  and 
abhorrence,  and  induce  mankind  to  avoid  it.  Subjects  of  illustra 
tion  are  daily  found  in  the  streets.  Sermons  that  do  not  so  pre 
sent  virtue  that  we  naturally  love  it,  and  vice  so  that  we  instinc 
tively  detest  it,  always  fail  in  producing  any  useful  effect.  It  is 
implanted  in  the  heart  of  man  to  admire  what  is  pure  and  lovely, 
and  to  loath  and  detest  what  is  the  reverse ;  and  with  this  thought 
in  mind,  the  clergy  should  present  the  Christian  religion,  leaving 
out  all  those  imaginary  matters  often  heard,  which  prove  a  de 
structive  alloy  to  pure  religion.  Mankind  do  not  divide  on  what 
we  have  said;  but,  upon  political  and  all  outside  questions,  they 
ever  have  and  ever  will;  and,  upon  all  such  as  men  differ,  a  wise 
teacher  of  the  Christian  religion  will  take  sides  with  neither.  If 
his  commission  is  from  God,  he  will  find  no  authority  in  it  for  his 


MISTAKES   OF   THE   AMERICAN   CLERGY.  315 

doing  so.  He  is  employed  to  teacli  religion,  and  not  politics  or 
other  irrelevant  matters.  His  whole  congregation  Avill  agree  upon 
the  truth  and  importance  of  vital  religion,  while  they  disagree 
about  every  thing  else. 

Have  the  clergy  confined  themselves  to  their  duties  as  above 
•indicated?  The  answer  must  be  no,  as  to  most  of  them.  The 
Republicans  in  Congress  have  called  upon  them  to  become  politi 
cal  partisans,  and  they  promptly  respond  to  the  call,  and  are 
responsible  for  many  of  the  grievous  afflictions  that  weigh  down 
our  country.  They  are  now  following  in  the  footsteps  of  those 
who  contributed  to  arouse  the  spirit  of  secession  and  disunion 
drring  Mr.  Jefferson's  time  and  the  War  of  1812.  They  are  obe 
dient  to  the  call  of  the  politicians,  as  the  following  will  show: 

In  1854,  when  Mr.  Douglas  reported  his  Kansas-and-Nebraska 
Bill,  Senators  Chase  of  Ohio,  Sumner  of  Massachusetts,  and 
Messrs.  Wade  and  Giddings  of  Ohio,  Smith  of  New  York,  and 
1)  3  Witt  of  Massachusetts,  issued  an  appeal,  in  which  they  said : 
"  We  implore  Christians  and  Christian  ministers  to  interpose. 
Their  divine  religion  requires  them  to  behold  in  every  man  a 
brother,  and  to  labor  for  the  advancement  and  regeneration  of 
the  human  race.  Let  all  protest,  earnestly  and  emphatically,  by 
correspondence  and  through  the  press,  by  memorials  and  resolu 
tions  of  public  meetings  and  legislative  bodies,  and  in  whatever 
mode  may  seem  expedient,  against  this  enormous  crime." 

This  appeal  was  sent  to  the  clergymen  of  New  England  and 
elsewhere,  with  a  circular,  which  was  signed  by  Charles  Lowell, 
Lyman  Beech er,  Baron  Stowe,  and  Sebastian  Streeter,  a  commit 
tee  of  clergymen  in  Boston,  dated  February  22,  1854,  in  which 
it  was  stated :  "  It  is  hoped  that  every  one  of  you  will  append 
your  names  to  it  [a  protest],  and  thus  furnish  to  the  nation  and 
the  age  the  sublime  and  influential  spectacle  of  the  great  Christian 
body  of  the  North  united  as  one  man  in  favor  of  freedom  and  of 
.solemn  plighted  faith.  .  .  . 

"  If  you  have  already,  either  as  a  private  Christian,  or  as  a 
clergyman,  signed  any  similar  document,  please  to  sign  this  also, 
as  it  is  earnestly  desired  to  embrace  in  this  movement  the  clerical 
voice  of  New  England.  . 


316  DEMOCEACY    IN   THE    UNITED    STATES. 

"  It  is  respectfully  submitted,  whether  the  present  is  not  a 
crisis  of  sufficient  magnitude  and  imminence  of  danger  to  the 
liberties  and  integrity  of  our  nation  to  warrant,  and  even  to  de 
mand,  the  services  of  the  clergy  of  all  denominations  in  arousing 
the  masses  of  the  people  to  its  comprehension,  through  the  press, 
and  even  the  pulpit" 

These  calls  produced  the  desired  effect  among  the  Northern 
clergy,  who  then  sent  in  their  protests,  in  which  they  say,  "  The 
undersigned,  clergymen  of  different  denominations  in  New  Eng 
land,  hereby,  in  the  name  of  Almighty  God,  and  in  His  presence, 
do  solemnly  protest  against  what  is  known  as  the  Nebraska  Bill." 
By  what  authority  did  they  speak  in  the  name  of  the  Supreme 
Being?  But  they  made  their  pulpits  ring  with  their  political 
effusions  in  His  name.  What  was  the  consequence?  It  cannot 
be  disguised  that  our  country  is  worse  demoralized  than  at  any 
former  period  in  its  history.  Murder,  infanticide,  arson,  robbery, 
bigamy,  adultery,  larceny,  and  every  other  crime  punishable  under 
the  laws,  are  infinitely  more  common  than  at  any  former  time. 
Frauds  have  multiplied,  and  intemperance  increased.  Churches 
have  become  divided,  many  are  without  sufficient  support,  and  some 
are  unoccupied,  while  vast  numbers  of  people  decline  to  attend 
churches  as  they  were  formerly  accustomed,  and  wish  still  to  do, 
because  disgusted  with  clergymen  who  mix  politics  and  religion. 
Men  going  to  and  returning  from  church,  instead  of  discussing  re 
ligious  subjects,  talk  over  political  matters  and  concert  plans  for 
the  campaign.  Why  are  these  things  so  ?  Although  the  pupils 
may  be  far  from  good,  AVC  cannot  doubt  that  the  fault  is  more 
with  the  teacher  than  the  pupil,  because  with  him  it  is  apparent 
that  politics  has  more  charms  for  him  than  the  Christian  religion. 
The  pupil  has  seen  the  professedly  religious  papers  take  sides  on 
political  questions,  he  has  heard  his  religious  teacher  advert  to 
them  in  his  prayers  and  sermons,  at  his  home,  on  the  wayside, 
often  at  public  meetings,  and  at  the  polls  of  election.  Can  the 
pupil  doubt  that  his  religious  teacher  considers  politics  either  as 
worship,  or  a  part  of  the  Christian  religion  ?  Even  children  draw 
these  conclusions,  and  act  accordingly.  The  female  sex,  confid 
ing  by  nature,  and  never  doubting  the  fidelity  or  capacity  of  their 


MISTAKES    OF   THE    AMEEICAN    CLEEGY.  317 

religious  guide,  are  ready  converts  to  whatever  he  may  hold  forth 
a,  a  matter  of  religious  duty.  Add  to  these  that  class  of  men  who 
espouse  questions  from  conviction  of  right,  and  another  actuated 
"by  interest,  and  we  have  the  elements  for  forming  a  strong  politi 
cal  party,  and  the  means  of  pushing  party  questions  to  their  ulti 
mate  results.  It  cannot  now  be  denied  that  a  large  portion  of 
the  New-England  clergy  opposed  the  acquisition  of  Louisiana, 
and  its  admission  as  a  State — the  admission  of  Missouri,  because 
her  constitution  recognized  slavery ;  that  they  entered  heartily 
into  the  Kansas  controversy,  and  into  the  abolition  tactics  that 
really  caused  the  war,  and  are  now  actively  sustaining  Congress 
in  elevating  the  negro  and  degrading  the  white  men  of  the  South. 
Their  active  devotion  on  these  subjects  produced  efforts  else 
where.  Ignorant  men  made  up  in  activity  and  zeal  what  they 
lacked  in  knowledge  and  capacity.  It  is  undeniably  true,  .had 
Uns  class  of  clergymen  devoted  themselves  to  the  worship  of  God 
and  teaching  the  Christian  religion,  and  left  the  politicians  to 
struggle  alone,  we  should  have  had  no  war — the  million  of  lives, 
and  the  thousands  of  millions  of  expenses  would  have  been  saved 
— our  character  as  a  nation  escaped  all  tarnish,  and  the  people 
would  be  prosperous  and  happy.  It  is  not  assumed  that  political 
clergymen  designed  to  produce  the  fatal  consequences  that  fol 
lowed  their  adventures  in  the  field  of  politics,  or  that  they  in 
tended  mischief ;  but  that  these  consequences  necessarily  flowed 
from  their  acts.  What  portion  intentionally  sought  the  wrong, 
and  what  blundered  into  it,  no  one  can  tell.  But  the  wrong  and 
the  results  are  before  us,  and  have  become  matters  of  history. 
Evil  results  will  ever  follow  political  preaching — teaching  party 
politics  instead  of  the  true  and  vital  principles  of  the  Christian  re 
ligion.  Instead  of  love  and  charity,  hatred  and  a  thirst  for  ven 
geance,  have  been  the  fruits  of  their  teachings.  We  say  these 
things  not  in  anger,  or  to  injure  the  clergy,  but  to  show  them 
how  their  acts  are  viewed,  and  to  persuade  them  to  a  more  Chris 
tian  course,  as  they  do  their  hearers.  We  have  the  same  right  to 
talk  to  them — to  tell  them  what  we  believe  to  be  true — to  reprove, 
to  admonish,  censure,  and  advise  them,  that  they  have  to  do 
the  same  to  others.  They  have  preceded  us  in  vouching  for 


318  DEMOCRACY  IN   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

their  imperfections,  as  they  do  in  their  prayers  and  conversation, 
and  go  far  beyond  us.  They  are,  therefore,  not  in  a  situation  to 
be  offended  with  us  for  calling  their  attention  to  their  own  errors, 
suggesting  their  consequences  and  soliciting  from  them  a  change 
to  wiser  and  more  appropriate  conduct,  to  secure  the  results 
which  all  good  men  wish  to  attain.  We  desire  to  see  the  American 
clergy  occupy  the  highest  and  best  ground  which  can  be  attained 
by  good  intentions  and  most  persevering  labor,  in  the  pur 
suit  of  Christian  truth.  "We  wish  them  to  become  what  their 
religious  professions  indicate  that  they  ought  to  be.  They  will 
then  be  vastly  more  useful  and  happy  themselves,  and  prove  a 
blessing  to  those  they  attempt  to  teach. 

121.— THE  PROPOSED  FOURTEENTH  AMENDMENT  TO  THE  CON 
STITUTION. 

The  thirteenth  amendment  of  the  Constitution  had  been 
ratified  in  1865,  receiving  the  votes  of  Florida,  South  Carolina, 
Alabama,  Virginia,  Louisiana,  Tennessee,  Arkansas,  North  Caro 
lina,  and  Georgia,  being  all  the  secession  States,  except  Mississippi 
and  Texas.  But  if  these  nine  States  were  not  restored,  or  re 
organized  so  as  to  act  and  bind  their  people,  this  amendment  did 
not  receive  the  votes  of  three-fourths  of  all  the  States  and  cannot 
be  valid,  and  slavery  is  not  forbidden  by  the  Federal  Constitution. 
But  we  claim  they  were  constitutionally  States,  and  the  amend 
ment  is  valid. 

On  the  13th  of  June,  1866,  Congress  proposed  another,  called 
the  fourteenth  amendment,  which  was  sent  to  the  several  States 
for  their  action.  It  is  as  follows : 

ARTICLE  XIV. 

Section  1. — All  persons  born  or  naturalized  in  the  United  States  and  sub 
ject  to  the  jurisdiction  thereof,  are  citizens  of  the  United  States  and  of  the  State 
wherein  they  reside.  No  State  shall  make  or  enforce  any  la\v  which  shall 
abridge  the  privileges  or  immunities  of  citizens  of  the  United  States ;  nor 
shall  any  State  deprive  any  person  of  life,  liberty,  or  property,  without  due 
process  of  law,  nor  deny  to  any  person  within  its  jurisdiction  the  equal  pro 
tection  of  the  laws. 

Section  2. — Representatives  shall  be  apportioned  among  the  several  States 
according  to  their  respective  numbers,  counting  the  whole  number  of  persons 


THE   PROPOSED   AMENDMENT,    ETC.  319 

in  each  State,  excluding  Indians  not  taxed.  But  when  the  right  to  vote  at 
any  election  for  the  choice  of  electors  for  President  and  Vice-President  of 
tl.c  United  States,  representatives  in  Congress,  the  executive  and  judicial 
officers  of  a  State,  or  the  members  of  the  Legislature  thereof,  is  denied  to  any 
of  the  male  inhabitants  of  such  State,  being  twenty-one  years  of  age  and 
citizens  of  the  United  States,  or  in  any  way  abridged,  except  for  participation 
ir.  rebellion  or  other  crime,  the  basis  of  representation  therein  shall  be  re- 
daced  in  the  proportion  which  the  number  of  such  male  citizens  shall  bear  to 
the  whole  number  of  male  citizens  twenty-one  years  of  age  in  such  State. 

Section  3. — Xo  person  shall  be  a  Senator,  or  representative  in  Congress, 
or  elector  of  President  and  Vice-President,  or  hold  any  office,  civil  or  military, 
under  thje  United  States,  or  under  any  State,  who,  having  previously  taken 
an  oath  as  a  member  of  Congress,  or  as  an  officer  of  the  United  States,  or  as 
a  member  of  any  State  Legislature,  or  as  an  executive  or  judicial  officer  of  any 
State,  to  support  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  shall  have  engaged  in 
insurrection  or  rebellion  against  the  same,  or  giving  aid  or  comfort  to  the 
enemies  thereof.  But  Congress  may,  by  a  vote  of  two-thirds  of  each  House, 
remove  such  disability. 

Section  4. — The  validity  of  the  public  debt  of  the  United  States  author 
ised  by  law,  including  debts  incurred  for  the  payment  of  pensions  and 
bounties  for  services  in  suppressing  insurrection  or  rebellion,  shall  not  be 
questioned.  But  neither  the  United  States,  nor  any  State,  shall  assume  to 
pay  any  debt  or  obligation  incurred  in  aid  of  insurrection  or  rebellion  against 
the  United  States,  or  any  claim  for  the  loss  or  emancipation  of  any  slave ; 
but  all  such  debt?,  obligations,  and  claims,  shall  be  held  illegal  and  void. 

Section  5. — Congress  shall  have  power  to  enforce,  by  appropriate  legisla- 
t  ion,  the  provisions  of  this  article. 

This  amendment  was  designed,  not  only  to  prescribe  rules  for 
the  secession  States,  but  to  control  all  others,  and  establish  negro 
citizenship,  and  confer  upon  them  the  right  of  suffrage,  notwith 
standing  such  State  constitutions  may  not  permit  it.  The  object 
was  to  strip  the  States  of  many  of  their  essential  and  constitu 
tional  rights.  The  provision  authorizing  Congress  to  remove  dis 
abilities,  was  designed  to  induce  rebels  to  turn  Republicans,  to 
secure  the  benefit  of  it. 

On  the  16th  of  June,  1866,  this  amendment  was  transmitted 
to  the  several  States  by  the  Secretary  of  State.  Tennessee,  it  is 
claimed,  adopted  it  on  the  12th  of  July,  1866,  and  thereupon  Con 
gress  passed  a  joint  resolution,  approved  by  the  President,  admit 
ting  her  into  the  Union,  and  her  Senators  and  members  to  seats. 


320  DEMOCEACY   IN  THE  UNITED   STATES. 

Prior  to  March,  1867,  Alabama,  Arkansas,  Florida,  Georgia, 
Louisiana,  Mississippi,  North  Carolina,  South  Carolina,  Texas,  and 
Virginia,  ten  in  all,  rejected  it.  Iowa,  California,  and  Nebraska 
have  not  acted  upon  it.  Twenty  States  have  ratified  it.  This 
proposed  amendment  has  not  been  sufficiently  ratified  to  become 
a  part  of  the  Constitution,  nor  is  it  expected  it  ever  will.  But 
Congress  may,  by  declaring  ten  States  out  of  the  Union,  in  order 
to  carry  their  points,  insist  that  it  has  been  adopted.  Failing  in 
this,  Congress  seeks  to  accomplish  substantially  the  same  thing, 
in  the  ten  secession  States,  under  their  reconstruction  acts,  by 
forcing  most  of  the  provisions  of  the  amendment  into  their  pro 
posed  State  constitutions.  This  is  what  is  being  done  at  the 
present  time  in  these  States  by  Congress  through  the  active 
agency  of  the  negroes,  a  limited  number  of  Republicans,  the 
Freedmen's  Bureau,  and  the  bayonet  authority.  All  this  is  in 
violation  of  the  pledge  of  Congress,  commonly  called  the  Critten- 
den  Resolution,  passed  nearly  unanimously  July  25,  1861. 

122.— LATER  PHASES  OF  CONGRESSIONAL  RECONSTRUCTION. 

Under  Mr.  Lincoln's  plan  of  December,  1863,  Louisiana  and 
Arkansas  were  reorganized,  one-tenth  of  the  old  voters  being 
loyal  men,  and  having  exercised  the  power  of  reorganization. 
Mr.  Lincoln  subsequently  changed  this  plan,  allowing  all  loyal 
men  who  had  taken  the  amnesty  oath,  and  were  voters  under  the 
State  constitution,  to  elect  delegates  to  a  State  convention  to 
amend  and  alter  their  State  constitutions.  Mr.  Johnson  adopted 
this  plan,  and  issued  his  proclamation  on  the  9th  of  May,  1865, 
appointing  William  \V.  Holden  provisional  Governor  of  North 
Carolina.  On  the  13th  of  June  he  appointed  William  L.  Sharkey 
Governor  of  Mississippi;  on  the  17th,  James  Johnson,  like  Gov 
ernor  of  Georgia;  on  the  same  day,  Andrew  J.  Hamilton,  for 
Texas;  on  the  21st,  Lewis  E.  Parsons,  for  Alabama;  on  the  30th, 
Benjamin  F.  Perry,  for  South  Carolina;  and  on  the  13th  of  July, 
William  Marvin,  for  Florida.  This  embraced  all  the  States,  ex 
cept  Virginia,  where  the  old  State  organization  had  been  kept 
alive,  under  Mr.  Lincoln's  auspices;  and  Tennessee,  where  a  politi 
cal  convention  had  proposed  amendments  to  her  old  constitution, 


LATER   PHASES    OF    CONGRESSIONAL    RECONSTRUCTION.       321 

which  were  adopted  and  treated  as  a  part  of  it.  It  thus  appears 
that  the  necessary  steps  had  been  taken  for  reorganization  in 
Louisiana  and  Arkansas,  and  in  all  the  other  seceding  States, 
those  pointed  out  as  in  Mr.  Lincoln's  plan  of  July  13,  1864. 
In  nearly  every  case  the  radical  Republicans  thwarted  the  ne 
cessary  proceedings  as  far  as  practicable.  From  July  4,  18G4,  to 
March,  1867,  a  period  of  almost  three  years,  Congress  passed  no 
law  on  the  subject  of  restoration  or  reorganization.  But  they  re 
fused  to  admit  Senators  or  members  from  any  secession  State, 
thus  leaving  every  thing  in  the  utmost  confusion.  The  act  of  the 
3d  of  March  1867,  was  followed  by  another  on  the  same  subject 
on  the  23d,  and  a  further  one  on  the  19th  of  July  of  the  same 
year.  These  three  acts  have  the  same  objects,  and  the  last  two 
are  intended  to  render  the  first  more  effective.  They  are  designed 
to  secure  such  a  reconstruction  as  will  make  the  secession  States 
Republican,  under  the  control  of  negroes,  through  the  agency  of 
the  Freedmen's  Bureau,  and  Republican  employes  of  the  Gov 
ernment.  Even  in  Virginia,  the  old  government  of  which  Peir- 
pont,  a  Republican,  was  Executive,  seems  to  have  been  reduced 
to  the  ranks,  and  compelled  to  seek  such  reorganization  as  the 
negroes  may  permit.  These  three  acts  passed  by  Congress  were 
so  framed  as  to  exclude  from  voting  and  office  nearly  all  the 
former  resident  white  men,  and  confer  the  control  upon  negroes 
and  the  canting  new-corner  white  men.  The  whole  has  been  put 
under  the  control  of  the  military  tyranny  which  exists  there,  above 
the  direction  of  the  President  and  the  control  of  the  people,  even 
at  the  ballot-box.  The  names  of  negroes  who  are  mere  myths 
are  registered  for  the  purpose  of  voting,  and  many  having  an  ac 
tual  existence  do  not  know  by  what  name  they  were  registered  ; 
while  thousands  of  white  men,  always  loyal  and  true,  are  thrust 
aside  and  not  permitted  to  register  their  names,  unless  they  prom 
ise  to  become  the  tools  of  the  Republican  party. 

The  conventions  called  have  been  largely  filled  by  negroes 
whose  ignorance  is  painful  to  the  observer,  if  not  uncomfort 
able  to  themselves.  The  constitution  framed  by  a  pepper-and- 
salt  convention  in  Alabama  has  been  rejected,  by  not  receiving  a 
majority  of  the  registered  voters.  The  next  step  probably  will 


322  DEMOCRACY    IN   THE    UNITED    STATES. 

be  for  Congress  to  admit  tLe  State  with  a  rejected  constitution, 
which  will,  at  no  distant  day,  end  in  rejecting  Republicanism  and 
all  its  works  in  that  State.  The  absurdities  and  inequalities  of 
this  Alabama  constitution  are  thus  exposed  by  Governor  Parsons : 

"  The  convention  has  provided  for  a  Senate  and  House  of 
Representatives,  the  former  to  be  composed  of  thirty-three  Sena 
tors,  and  the  latter  of  one  hundred  Representatives.  They  pro 
ceed  to  apportion  representation  upon  the  basis  of  fifty-nine  coun 
ties  in  the  State,  entirely  omitting  three  of  the  sixty-two  counties 
into  which  the  State  is  divided.  To  thirty-five  of  these  fifty-nine 
counties,  with  208,282  whites,  and  111,159  blacks,  in  all  391,441, 
they  have  apportioned  one  Representative  each.  To  the  remain 
ing  twenty-four  counties,  with  152,407  whites,  and  32 8,3 10  blacks, 
in  all  580,717,  they  have  given  sixty-five  votes.  If  representation 
had  been  apportioned  to  the  entire  population  of  the  State  in  the 
same  ratio  awarded  to  the  eight  counties  to  which  three  Repre 
sentatives  were  given,  the  House  of  Representatives  would  have 
consisted  of  one  hundred  and  twenty-eight  Representatives,  in 
stead  of  one  hundred.  On  the  other  hand,  if  the  same  ratio  of 
Representatives  were  awarded  to  thirty-five  counties  where  the 
white  population  predominates  over  the  black  more  than  two  to 
one,  the  House  of  Representatives  would  have  been  composed  of 
eighty-eight  instead  of  one  hundred  members.  Thus  it  is  made 
apparent  that  there  is  a  difference  of  forty  per  cent,  between  the 
ratio  of  representation  in  the  eight  counties  where  the  black  popu 
lation  predominates  and  the  thirty -five  counties  where  the  white 
population  outnumbers  the  blacks  more  than  two  to  one." 

This  shows  to  what  length  the  Republicans  will  go  in  order  to 
perpetuate  their  ascendency.  There  is  not  even  a  pretence  of 
equality  or  fairness  in  this  distribution  of  representation.  There 
are  other  things  in  this  rejected  constitution  that  are  little  in 
ferior  in  absurdity  and  injustice  to  those  mentioned. 

But  bad  as  the  Alabama  production  is,  the  convention,  called 
under  these  reorganization  laws,  in  Arkansas,  excels  it.  It  is  thus 
described  by  that  calm  and  truthful  paper,  the  Journal  of  Commerce : 

"  It  combines  the  extremes  of  freedom  and  tyranny  to  an  ex 
tent  hard  to  parallel  in  history.  After  giving  the  ballot  to  women 


THE   AMERICAN    PRESS   AND   TELEGRAPH.  323 

and  negroes,  and  making  them  competent  for  jury  duty,  it  pro 
ceeds  to  declare  now  voting  shall  be  done  on  the  new  constitution. 
Voters  are  required  to  swear  that  they  have  never  given  aid  to 
secession  in  any  State.  This  offers  a  premium  to  perjury,  or  shuts 
the  door  of  repentance  and  reformation  against  those  who  have 
erred ;  and  is  of  itself  a  monstrous  instance  of  injustice.  Not 
satisfied  with  this,  the  framers  of  the  constitution  clap  a  muzzle 
upon  every  man's  mouth  by  requiring  him  to  swear  that  he  ac 
cepts  for  all  time  the  social  and  political  equality  of  the  white  and 
black  races,  not  merely  the  l  political,'  observe,  but  the  *  social ! ' 
But  the  essential  despotism  of  this  new  constitution  reaches  the 
climax  when,  after  insisting  on  all  these  qualifications  for  voting, 
it  disfranchises  all  persons  who  shall  vote  against  the  new  consti 
tution.  We  match  this  against  any  thing  that  can  be  found  in  the 
previous  history  of  the  world." 

The  Tennessee  constitution  is  but  little  better,  and  it  is  proba 
ble  that  other  constitutions  will  be  found  to  contain  some  equally 
absurd  propositions.  But  these  are  sufficient  to  show  to  what  ex 
tremes  Republicans  will  go  to  preserve  their  power.  Not  a  Re 
publican  paper  or  speaker,  as  far  as  we  know,  has  condemned 
these  outrages  upon  the  rights  of  man.  If  they  do  not  openly 
praise  the  actors  in  these  matters,  they  doubtless  secretly  applauded 
the  effort  to  accomplish  what  they  desire  done.  How  long  the 
American  people  will  permit  such  abuses  for  such  purposes,  rests 
with.  them.  We  are  no  advocates  of  military  tyranny ;  but  even 
that,  under  respectable,  well-informed,  and  hone*st  officers,  is  prefer 
able  to  the  negro  tyranny  sought  to  be  fastened  upon  the  South 
through  these  reconstruction  conventions.  What  the  Republicans 
will  next  propose,  remains  to  be  seen.  They  are  now  too  busy  in  try 
ing  to  convict  and  depose  the  President  to  attend  to  reconstruction. 
When  that  work  shall  be  completed,  a  new  chapter  will  be  acted. 

123.— THE  AMERICAN  PRESS  AXD  THE  TELEGRAPH. 

The  first  amendment  of  the  national  Constitution  wisely  for 
bids  Congress  to  abridge  the  freedom  of  speech  and  of  the  press. 
During  Mr.  Lincoln's  administration  both  these  privileges  were 
violated  without  even  the  formality  of  a  law,  and  Congress  passed 


324:  DEMOCRACY   IN  THE   UNITED   STATES. 

indemnity  laws  to  protect  those  guilty  of  violating  these  rights. 
The  press  is  an  immense  power  in  this  country,  consisting  of  papers 
of  little  consideration  and  those  of  the  highest  and  most  useful 
character.  In  many,  the  best  capacity  and  highest  characters  are 
laboriously  and  conscientiously  employed  in  ascertaining  and  pub 
lishing  the  truth,  and  in  developing  and  disseminating  the  true 
principles  of  government.  There  is  a  wide  difference  between 
a  sheet  of  news — portions  of  which  may  be  without  foundation 
— and  a  dignified  and  conscientious  journal  that  labors  to  give  its 
readers  reliable  facts  and  safe  political  principles,  both  tending 
to  enlighten  and  benefit  mankind. 

Error  once  diffused  through  the  telegraph  is  seldom  corrected. 
This  instrument,  the  work  of  scientific  minds  for  ages,  now  made 
practically  useful,  chiefly  by  Professors  Henry  and  Morse,  both 
Americans,  has  been  of  immense  service  during  the  war,  and  con 
tinues  to  be  so  since  the  proclamation  of  peace.  But  this  scien 
tific  instrument  is  made  the  vehicle  of  much  error  and  many  false 
hoods,  in  the  form  of  mere  news,  which  bad  men  circulate  for 
mischievous,  and  mostly  for  political  purposes.  During  the  Kan 
sas  troubles,  falsehoods  constituted  the  rule  and  truth  the  excep 
tion.  This  was  so  during  the  war,  as  was  seen  when  General  Pope 
telegraphed  that  he  had  won  a  victory  at  the  second  battle  of  Bull 
Run,  when  he  had  been  defeated.  Since  the  war,  the  telegraph 
has  been  the  vehicle  of  more  falsehoods  than  truths,  from  the 
South,  sent  by  Freedmen's  Bureau  agents,  military  men,  and  others 
in  the  interest  of  "the  Republicans,  for  political  effect.  Grave 
speeches  and  fiery  newspaper  articles  have  been  based  on  such 
information,  when  they  were  mere  myths — the  creation  of  the 
brain  of  some  reckless  partisan,  willing  to  live  by  framing  and 
circulating  falsehoods  which  disgrace  the  nation.  Our  political 
contests  call  into  service  many  such  pens.  We  know  of  no  remedy 
for  these  evils,  but  their  injurious  effects  can  be  avoided  to  a  con 
siderable  extent,  by  carefully  scrutinizing  and  weighing  all  such  in 
telligence,  and  by  patronizing  and  relying  only  upon  papers  con 
ducted  by  able,  careful,  and  candid  men.  We  have  in  mind  now 
an  instance  when  in  March,  1857,  about  eleven  years  since,  a 
falsehood  was  telegraphed  from  Washington  to  all  parts  of  the 


THE    AMERICAN   TRESS    AND    TELEGRAPH.  325 

country,  which  is  still  believed  by  a  large  portion  of  our  people. 
The  telegraph  stated,  and  the  Republican  papers  throughout  the 
country,  on  the  strength  of  it,  declared  that  Chief-Justice  Taney 
had,  in  the  Dred  Scott  case,  "  decided  that  negroes  had  no  rights 
that  the  white  man  was  bound  to  respect."  This  has  been  a  text 
for  eleven  years  for  the  Republican  party — its  press  and  speakers 
— upon  which  to  condemn  and  denounce  him,  and"  the  party  of 
which  he  was  a  member.  Although  its  truth  has  been  constantly 
denied,  that  party  has  persisted  in  the  repetition  of  the  charge.  We 
know  this  charge  to  be  untrue  in  letter  and  spirit.  The  Chief  Jus 
tice  neither  held,  believed,  nor  wished  any  thing  of  the  kind.  He  had 
inherited  a  large  number  of  slaves  ;  he  educated  those  that  were 
capable  of  acquiring  education,  and  gave  all,  who  would  accept 
it,  their  freedom,  and  supported,  during  life,  those  who,  unable 
to  support  themselves,  chose  to  remain  with  him.  He  preferred 
hiring  labor  to  holding  slaves.  To  misrepresent  a  judicial  act  of 
such  a  man  is  unpardonable,  whatever  the  motive  may  be.  With 
most  of  those  who  disseminated  the  charge  there  is  no  excuse, 
because  they  could  have  read  what  he  did  say  in  the  Book  of 
Reports,  and  then  correct  their  error  if  it  were  unintentional.  But, 
instead  of  doing  this,  the  false  charge  followed  that  eminent  and 
good  man  to  his  grave.  The  words  quoted  were  not  a  part  of 
the  rulings  of  the  Chief  Justice  or  court,  but  are  found  in  his  re 
citals  of  historical  facts  of  former  times.  After  stating  that  ne 
groes  were  not  made  citizens  by  the  Federal  Constitution,  he  said  : 
"  On  the  contrary,  they  were,  at  that  time,  considered  as  a  subor 
dinate  and  inferior  class  of  beings,  who  had  been  subjugated  by 
the  dominant  race,  and,  whether  emancipated  or  not,  yet  remained 
subject  to  their  authority,  and  had  no  rights  or  privileges  but 
such  as  those  who  held  the  power  and  government  might  choose 
to  grant  them.  It  is  not  the  province  of  the  court  to  decide  upon 
the  justice  or  injustice,  the  policy  or  impolicy,  of  these  laws. 
The  decision  of  that  question  belonged  to  the  political,  or  law- 
making  power ;  to  those  who  formed  the  sovereignty  and  framed 
the  Constitution.  The  duty  of  the  Court  is  to  interpret  the  in 
strument  they  have  framed,  with  the  best  lights  we  can  obtain  on 
the  subject,  and  to  administer  it  as  we  find  it,  according  to  its 


326  DEMOCRACY   IN    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

true  intent  and  meaning  when  it  was  adopted.  .  .  .  They  had,  for 
more  than  a  century  before,  been  regarded  as  beings  of  an  inferior 
order,  and  altogether  unfit  to  associate  with  the  white  race,  either 
in  social  or  political  relations,  and  so  far  inferior  that  they  had 
no  rights  which  the  white  man  was  bound  to  respect ;  and  that 
the  negro  might  justly  and  lawfully  be  reduced  to  slavery  for  his 
benefit.  He  was  bought  and  sold,  and  treated  as  an  ordinary 
article  of  merchandise  and  traffic,  whenever  a  profit  could  be 
made  by  it.  This  opinion  was,  at  that  time,  fixed  and  universal 
in  the  civilized  portion  of  the  white  race.  It  was  regarded  as  an 
axiom  in  morals  as  well  as  in  politics,  which  no  one  thought  of 
disputing,  or  supposed  to  be  open  to  dispute  ;  and  men  in  every 
grade  and  position  in  society  daily  and  habitually  acted  upon  it 
in  their  private  pursuits,  as  well  as  in  matters  of  public  concern, 
without  doubting  for  a  moment  the  correctness  of  this  opinion. 
And  in  no  nation  was  this  opinion  more  firmly  fixed  or  more  uni 
formly  acted  upon  than  by  the  English  Government  and  English 
people.  They  not  only  seized  them  on  the  coast  of  Africa,  and 
sold  them,  or  held  them  in  slavery  for  their  own  use,  but  they 
took  them,  as  ordinary  articles  of  merchandise,  to  every  country 
where  they  could  make  a  profit  on  them,  and  were  for  more  ex 
tensively  engaged  in  this  commerce  than  any  other  nation  in  the 
world.  The  opinion  thus  entertained  and  acted  upon  in  England 
was  naturally  impressed  upon  the  colonies  on  this  side  of  the  At 
lantic.  And,  accordingly,  a  negro  of  the  African  race  was  regard 
ed  by  them  as  an  article  of  property,  and  held,  and  bought,  and 
sold  as  such  in  every  one  of  the  thirteen  colonies  which  united  in 
the  Declaration  of  Independence  and  afterward  framed  the  Con 
stitution  of  the  United  States.  The  slaves  were  more  or  less  nu 
merous  in  the  different  colonies,  as  slave-labor  was  found  more  or 
less  profitable.  But  no  one  seems  to  have  doubted  the  correct 
ness  of  the  prevailing  opinion  of  the  time"  (19  Howard,  pp. 
404,  407,  408).  It  will  be  seen  that,  instead  of  declaring  it  to  be 
his  opinion  that  the  negroes  had  no  rights  which  white  men  were 
bound  to  respect,  he  was  stating  historical  facts,  known  by  all 
well-informed  men  to  be  true,  and  which  no  one  will  deny,  as  the 
probable  reason  why  the  Constitution  contained  only  the  pro- 


THE    SECESSION   STATES,    ETC.  327 

visions  then  found  in  it.  He  showed  that  the  English  brought 
negroes  from  Africa  and  sold  them  where  they  could  make  profit, 
thus  leading  her  colonies  to  do  the  same  thing,  stating  what  both 
thought  of  the  matter.  The  Chief  Justice  was  not  responsible  for 
history,  and  committed  no  offence  in  stating  it.  This  is  one  of 
the  cases  where  falsehood  has  been  knowingly  circulated  by  the 
telegraph  and  the  Republican  press,  and  the  well-informed  of  the 
party,  for  political  effect.  There  can  be  no  denial  or  concealment 
of  the  fact  that  the  charge  was  wantonly  false,  and  known  to  be 
so  by  him  who  first  sent  it  over  the  wires,  and  by  the  Repub 
lican  press  after  the  denial  of  its  truth,  for  the  purpose  of  injuring 
one  of  the  best  men  in  the  world,  and  weakening  and  destroying 
the  force  and  effect  of  what  he  did  decide,  to  wit,  that,  under  the 
Constitution,  negroes  of  African  descent  were  not  citizens  of  the 
United  States,  and,  therefore,  the  Court  had  no  jurisdiction  over  a 
case  where  it  depended  upon  the  citizenship  of  a  negro  plaintiff. 
Whether  that  question  was  rightly  or  wrongly  decided  has  noth 
ing  to  do  with  the  opinion  falsely  imputed  to  the  Chief  Justice, 
reiterated,  and  never  recalled,  and  all  for  political  effect.  This 
was  no  fault  of  the  telegraph,  but  of  those  who  used  it. 

124.— THE   SECESSION  STATES  WERE  NEVER,   IN  LAW,   OUT   OF 
THE  UNION. 

The  Constitution  expressly  provides  that  new  States  may  be 
admitted  into  the  Union.  Every  new  State  has  been  admitted 
under  this  provision  by  an  express  statute,  all  of  which  remain 
unrepealed,  nor  is  there  any  power  in  the  Constitution  author 
izing  a  repeal.  Nor  any  conferring  power  on  the  States  to 
leave,  withdraw,  or  secede,  or  permitting  Congress  to  expel  a  State, 
or  to  declare  war  upon,  or  to  conquer  it.  "When  once  admitted, 
a  State  forms  a  part  of  the  Union  forever.  There  is  no  more 
power  in  Congress  or  a  State  to  change  this  relation  than  there  is 
for  them  to  annul  the  Union,  which  we  all  claim  to  be  sacred. 
Neither  can  change,  except  by  successful  revolution,  shaking  off 
the  old  Government  and  forming  a  new  one,  as  we  did  when  we 
expelled  the  British  power  and  set  up  our  own.  Had  our  effort 
to  shake  off  the  British  power  fallen  short  of  success,  we  should 


328  DEMOCEACY   IN   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

have  remained  colonies  as  before  the  attempt.  There  being  no 
power  to  expel  States,  and  none  to  "  let  them  go  in  peace,"  nor 
any  on  their  part  to  sever  their  constitutional  relations,  it  fol 
lows  that  they  must  remain  a  portion  of  the  Union  during  all 
time.  The  identity  of  a  nation  is  as  indivisible  as  that  of  an 
individual.  A  man  cannot  be  divided  into  two  parts,  nor  can  one 
or  more  parts  be  subordinated  to  the  other  parts,  where  the  whole 
is  in  a  condition  of  health.  Where  health  is  wanting,  restoration 
becomes  a  necessity.  The  Constitution  confers  no  power  on  the 
Government  of  the  United  States  to  put  a  State  out  of  the  Union 
by  making  a  conquest  over  it,  or  in  any  other  way.  If  the  Gov 
ernment  could  do  so,  it  would  depend  upon  its  will  as  to  what 
State  or  States  should  be  conquered  and  thus  expelled,  or  be  con 
verted  into  mere  dependent  provinces.  This  was  not  the  mission 
of  our  fathers.  They  simply  were  authorized  to  bring  together 
what  existed  before  in  separate  colonies,  and  each  colony  was  an 
independent  party — all  having  absolutely  an  inalienable  right  and 
joint  interest  in  the  Union.  But  the  Constitution  does  provide 
for  the  exact  case  that  has  occurred,  which  conclusively  proves 
that  conquest  of  a  State  by  the  Federal  Government  was  neither 
contemplated  nor  authori  ed  by  the  Constitution.  It  authorizes 
Congress  to  provide  for  calling  forth  the  militia  to  execute  the 
laws  of  the  Union,  suppress  insurrections,  and  repel  invasions. 
This  power  has  been  exercised  by  Congress  in  passing  the  Act 
of  1795,  authorizing  the  President  to  call  out  the  militia  to 

CD 

suppress  insurrections,  and  in  1807  a  law  placing  under  his  con 
trol  the  army  and  navy  to  aid  in  that  object.  It  was  under  these 
laws  that  Mr.  Lincoln  issued  his  proclamation  of  April  15,  1861, 
calling  for  seventy-five  thousand  militia,  and  for  which  Congress, 
by  the  act  of  July  13,  18G1,  voted  compensation.  It  was  under 
this  constitutional  provision  that,  on  the  22d  of  July,  1861,  Con 
gress  called  for  five  hundred  thousand  volunteers  for  "  suppressing 
insurrection,"  and  on  the  29tli  passed  "An  Act  to  provide  for  the 
suppression  of  rebellion  against  and  resistance  to  the  laws  of  the 
United  States,"  in  which  the  President  was  authorized  "  to  call 
forth  the  militia  of  any  and  all  the  States  in  the  Union,  and  to 
employ  such  parts  of  the  land  and  naval  forces  of  the  United 


THE   SECESSION   STATES,   ETC.  329 

States  as  he  may  deem  necessary  to  enforce  the  faithful  execution 
of  the  laws  of  the  United  States,  or  to  suppress  such  rebellion  in 
whatever  State  or  Territory  thereof  the  laws  of  the  United  States 
may  be  forcibly  opposed,  or  the  execution  forcibly  obstructed." 
The  act  of  July  21,  1861,  provides  when  the  President  may  de 
clare  inhabitants  to  be  "  in  a  state  of  insurrection."  On  the  6th 
of  August,  1861,  Congress  passed  "An  Act  to  confiscate  property 
used  for  insurrectionary  purposes,"  which  directs  what  shall  be 
done  "  during  the  present  or  any  future  insurrection  against  the 
Government."  On  the  7th  of  June,  1862,  Congress  passed  an 
act  concerning  the  collection  of  taxes  <£  in  insurrectionary  dis- 

ZD  »/ 

tricts,"  declaring  what  should  be  done  "  in  cases  of  insurrection  or 
rebellion."  On  the  17th.  of  July,  1862,  Congress  passed  "An 
Act  to  suppress  insurrection  and  to  punish  treason  and  rebellion," 
which  declares  the  consequences  of  engaging  "in  any  rebellion  or 
insurrection."  On  the  same  day  an  act  was  passed,  amending  a 
former  act  concerning  suppressing  "  insurrections,"  under  which 
the  President  was  authorized  to  call  for  one  hundred  thousand 
volunteers.  On  the  3d  of  March,  1863,  Congress  passed  an  act 
concerning  enrolling  the  national  forces,  which  recites  in  a  pream 
ble  that  "there  now  exists  in  the  United  States  an  insurrection," 
etc.  On  the  3d  of  March,  1863,  Congress  passed  an  act  to  pre 
vent  frauds  "  in  insurrectionary  districts,"  and  made  provision  con 
cerning  abandoned  property  in  places  declared  to  be  "  in  insurrec 
tion."  These  are  merely  specimens  of  the  declarations  of  Congress 
which  run  through  the  statutes  during  the  war.  There  is  not  one 
line  of  law  looking  to  "  conquest."  Mr.  Lincoln's  proclamations 
contain  like  expressions,  and  so  do  speeches  of  members.  In  his 
first  inaugural  address  he  said :  "  It  follows  from  these  views  that 
no  State,  upon  its  own  mere  motion,  can  lawfully  get  out  of  the 
Union ;  that  resolves  and  ordinances  to  that  effect  are  legally  void." 
The  pretence  of  "conquest"  was  never  even  suggested  until 
long  after  the  war,  and  then  by  members  of  Congress  to  justify 
themselves  in  treating  the  secession  States  as  conquered  provinces. 
No  military  officer,  in  his  proclamations  or  correspondence, 
even  thought  that  he  or  his  men  were  fighting  for  conquest. 
Every  one  supposed  he  was  engaged  in  putting  down  insurrection, 


330  DEMOCRACY    IN   THE    UNITED    STATES. 

and  fighting  for  the  Union.  The  soldiers  even  expressed  their 
indignation  when  told  they  were  fighting  for  the  abolitionists. 
Our  Government  told  the  people  and  the  world,  that  the  sole  ob 
ject  of  the  war  was  to  suppress  insurrection  as  the  best  means  of 
restoring  the  Union.  We  complained  of  England  and  France  for 
treating  the  secessionists  as  our  public  enemies,  we  claiming  that 
they  were  insurrectionists,  rebels,  and  traitors,  subject  to  our  laws. 
The  Crittenden  Resolution  is  express  upon  this  point.  We  all 
treated  and  talked  of  the  South  as  States  belonging  to  and  form 
ing  a  part  of  the  Union. 

Congress,  in  its  acts  on  the  subject  throughout  the  war,  treated 
them  as  States.  It  apportioned  members  of  Congress  to  them, 
and  assigned  to  them  different  judicial  circuits.  The  Constitution 
provides  that  "  no  new  State  shall  be  formed  or  erected  within  the 
jurisdiction  of  any  other  State  ....  without  the  consent  of" 
such  State.  On  the  31st  of  December,  1862,  Congress  passed 
an  act  for  the  admission  of  the  State  of  "  Western  Virginia," 
which  is  still  represented  in  Congress,  in  which  it  recites  "  the 
Legislature  of  Virginia,  by  an  act  passed  the  13th  of  May,  1862, 
did  give  its  consent  to  the  formation  of  a  new  State,"  etc.  But 
if  Virginia  had  ceased  to  be  a  State  in  the  Union,  how  could  she 
give  such  consent  ?  This  proves  conclusively  that,  at  that  time, 
Virginia  was  considered  by  Congress  as  a  State  in  the  Union, 
with  all  her  powers  as  such.  If  it  was  so  at  the  end  of  1862, 
when  and  how  did  she  cease  to  be  such  State  ?  If  these  States 
were  not  really  such,  why  did  Congress,  in  imposing  its  direct 
taxes,  describe  them  as  States,  and  apportion  taxes  "  to  the  States 
respectively  ?  "  The  Confederate  generals  were  not  told,  when  they 
surrendered,  that  the  South  would  be  treated  as  conquered  prov 
inces.  They  and  our  generals  understood  that  secession  had 
failed,  and  the  States  were  a  part  of  the  Union.  Both  Grant  and 
Lee  evidently  so  understood  it.  If  these  States  were  out  of  the 
Union,  why  call  upon  them  to  consent  to  amendments  to  -the 
national  Constitution,  and  why  receive  Tennessee,  and  admit  the 
Senators  and  members  on  her  adopting  the  14th  amendment? 
The  United  States  Senate  so  understood  the  matter.  United 
States  district  judges,  marshals,  and  district  attorneys  were 


ETC.  331 

appointed  in  some  of  the  States  during,  and  others  after,  tlie  war, 
with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  Senate.  They  have  consented 
to  the  appointment  of  numerous  officers  there,  under  laws  applica 
ble  only  in  cases  where  States  exist.  They  continued  to  sit  with 
Senators  from  Tennessee  and  Virginia  long  after  secession.  If 
these  States  became  conquered  provinces,  there  could  be  no 
Federal  officers  in  them  until  after  their  creation  by  statute.  In 
such  case  the  old  laws  would  not  apply.  Congress  frequently, 
during  the  war,  changed  the  time  and  place  of  holding  United 
States  Circuit  and  District  Courts  in  certain  States.  By  the  act 
increasing  the  number  of  Supreme  Court  Judges,  passed  July 
23,  1866,  Congress  assigned  Virginia  and  North  and  South  Caro 
lina  to  the  fourth  circuit  ;  Georgia,  Florida,  Alabama,  Mississippi, 
Louisiana,  and  Texas,  to  the  fifth;  Tennessee  to  the  sixth; 
and  Arkansas  to  the  eighth  circuit ;  and  judges  of  the  Supreme 
Court  were,  under  a  law  of  Congress,  assigned  to  these  circuits. 
These  things  prove  that  the  States  existed  as  such,  and  were  not 
mere  conquered  provinces  in  the  estimation  of  Congress  at  that 
time.  No  expression  of  opinion  can  remove  these  acts  from  the 
record,  or  annul  their  meaning.  The  executive  branch  of  the  Gov 
ernment  has  recognized  the  States  as  still  having  a  distinct  and 
known  existence. 

The  Supreme  Court  has  done  the  same  in  a  large  number  of 
instances.  During  the  war,  it  assigned  judges  to  the  Southern 
as  well  as  Northern  circuits.  It  kept  a  large  number  of  cases 
upon  its  docket,  which  were  there  before  the  war,  and  has  since 
heard  and  determined  them.  In  some  of  them,  the  Court  was 
informed  that  the  wrar  was  ended,  and  the  civil  authorities  exer 
cising  jurisdiction  there  ;  and,  on  that  ground,  the  Court  was  re 
quested  to  take  them  up,  and  did  so ;  and  heard  and  decided 
them.  It  heard  one  case  from  Louisiana  that  was  decided 
and  removed  during  the  war.  During  the  whole  war,  the  United 
States  District  Court  at  Key  West,  Florida,  continued  in  the  dis 
charge  of  its  duties  ;  and  numerous  prize  cases  decided  there  were 
removed  to  the  Supreme  Court,  and  heard  and  determined  by  it 
while  the  war  was  in  progress.  The  Court  has  heard  cases  brought 
by  some  of  these  States,  since  the  war,  without  objecting  that 


332  DEMOCRACY   IN   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

they  were  not  States  in  the  Union.  United  States  District  Judges 
in  most,  if  not  all,  of  these  States  have  held  courts  under  the 
Judiciary  Act  of  1789  without  question.  Judge  Underwood  tried 
numerous  confiscation  cases  during  the  war,  and  has  taken  juris 
diction  of  the  class  of  cases  which  are  authorized  by  the  Judiciary 
Act.  Chief-Justice  Chase  has  actually  held  Circuit  Courts  in  Vir 
ginia  and  North  Carolina,  exercising  the  same  jurisdiction  as  those 
courts  did  before  the  war.  Jefferson  Davis's  case  is  still  pending 
in  the  Virginia  Circuit  Court.  The  question  then  stands  thus : 

1.  The  Executive  Department,  having  as  much  right  to  its 
opinion  as  any  other  branch,  holds  that  the  secession  States  are 
in  the  Union,  forming  an  integral  portion  of  the  United  States, 
entitled  to  the  same  powers  and  privileges,  and  subject  to  the 
same  duties,  as  the  other  States. 

2.  The  Judicial  Department,  whose  duty  it  is  to  declare  the 
meaning  of  the  Constitution  and  laws,  throughout  the  war,  and 
since,  has,  in  numerous  cases  and  ways,  recognized  these  States 
as  in  and  forming  a  part  of  the  Union. 

3.  The  entire  Democratic  party,  and  a  portion  of  the  Repub 
licans,  concur  in  the  views  of  the  Executive  and  Judicial  Depart 
ments. 

4.  During,  and   until  long  after  the   close  of  the  war,  the 
Legislative  Department,  and  the  residue  of  the  Republicans,  both 
by  legislative  acts  and  declarations,  and  through  the  press  and 
public  addresses,  avowed  that  the  sole  object  of  the  war  was  to 
restore  the  Union,  and  it  was  to  accomplish  this  that  men  rushed 
to  the  tented-field,  and  cheerfully  sacrificed  their  lives ;  and  those 
having  means  cheerfully  tendered  the  same  to  the  Government. 

5.  The  Republican  party  had  nominated  Mr.  Johnson,  of  Ten 
nessee,  one   of  these  seceded  States,  for  Vice-President,  which 
would  not  be  legal  if  it  was  not  a  State  in  the  Union. 

6.  That  State  gave  Lincoln  and  Johnson  its  votes,  which  were 
counted  by  Vice-President  Hamlin,  in  the  presence  of  the  Senate  and 
House,  no  one  objecting ;  and  both  were  declared  duly  elected. 

On  the  other  side  we  now  have  : 

1.  A  majority  of  the  Legislative  Department,  after  the  close 
of  the  war,  disavowing  their  former  opinions  and  acts,  and  declar- 


ANDEEW   JOHNSON.  333 

ing  tb at  instead  of  States  in  the  Union,  we  have  now  conquered 
provinces  to  govern. 

2.  The  larger  portion  of  the  Republican  party,  following  their 
leaders,  have  changed  their  expression  of  opinions. 

Only  a  fraction  of  the  Government  and  people  deny  these 
States  the  right  to  assume  their  places  in  the  Union.  If  the  present 
position  of  the  Republican  party  is  correct,  then  all  the  acts  of  the 
war  were  based  upon  the  false  pretence  of  fighting  to  restore  the 
Union,  when  the  real  object  was  to  conquer  provinces  and  govern 
them — a  thing  not  authorized  by  the  Constitution.  The  motives 
of  the  professed  change — for  it  is  not  real — are  apparent.  It  is 
to  cramp  and  worry  these  States,  and  force  them,  in  order  to  be 
come  practically  States  in  the  Union,  so  to  mould  and  frame  their 
constitutions  as  to  enable  the  Republicans,  through  the  negroes, 
to  control  them  politically.  These  States  are  now  as  much  a 
part  of  the  Union  as  on  the  day  they  were  admitted. 

125.— ANDREW  JOHNSON. 

Andrew  Johnson  is  a  native  of  North  Carolina,  but  an  adopted 
son  of  Tennessee,  and  is  about  sixty  years  of  age,  in  robust  health, 
and  capable  of  great  endurance,  of  medium  size,  and  rather 
thick  set.  His  education,  though  self-acquired,  is  good.  His 
application  has  been  great,  and  his  memory  is  remarkably  clear 
and  retentive.  During  his  whole  life  he  has  been  noted  for  strict 
integrity,  and  his  word  was  as  good  as  a  bond.  Although  indus 
trious  and  prudent,  his  acquisition  of  knowledge  was  greater  than 
that  of  wealth,  concerning  which  he  has  no  remarkable  skill.  He 
neither  hoards  money  nor  lavishly  spends  it.  With  him  it  seems 
to  be  simply  a  medium  of  life  and  enjoyment. 

Politically,  Mr.  Johnson  came  upon  the  stage,  and  has  re 
mained,  a  Democrat.  He  had  before  him  such  lights  as  Jack 
son,  Grundy,  "White,  Cave  Johnson,  and  Polk  to  guide  him  in 
forming  and  settling  his  political  principles.  In  the  State  Legis 
lature,  in  the  House  of  Representatives,  as  Governor  of  Tennessee, 
and  United  States  Senator,  he  acquitted  himself  to  the  satisfaction 
of  his  friends,  and  with  high  credit  to  himself,  as  a  true  and  faith 
ful  Democrat.  His  record  was  in  all  respects  fair,  and  in  many 


334:  DEMOCRACY   IN   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

noble.  It  shows  endless  labor,  and  of  the  most  useful  kind,  and 
with  as  few  mistakes  as  that  of  any  of  his  contemporaries.  His 
first  mistake  was  in  resigning  his  place  in  the  Senate,  and  accept 
ing  that  of  military  Governor,  where  it  was  expected  he  would 
make  laws  as  he  went  along,  and  also  administer  them.  Few,  if 
any,  ever  retire  from  such  a  position  as  much  respected  and  be 
loved  as  when  they  entered. 

In  1864  the  Republicans  had  many  fears  and  doubts  concerning 
their  ability  to  carry  a  purely  Republican  ticket.  Hence  they  sunk 
the  word  "  Republican  "  in  their  calls  and  meetings  and  adopted  the 
words  "Union  National "  or  "  National  Union  party,"  assuming  that 
it  was  not  a  party  question  which  was  to  be  solved,  but  one  of  "  sav 
ing  the  national  Union,"  by  which  they  deluded  many  Democrats 
into  the  support  of  their  ticket,  they  being  made  to  believe  they 
were  in  good  faith  so  acting  as  to  save  the  Union.  As  Mr.  Lincoln 
was  to  be  nominated,  this  pretence  would  not  be  received  and  relied 
upon,  unless  the  nominating  convention  placed  a  Democrat  on 
the  ticket  fo*  Yice-President.  They  knew  Mr.  Johnson,  and  that 
he  was  an  unchanged  Democrat,  who  had  in  the  House  and  Sen 
ate,  and  elsewhere,  denounced  their  principles  and  practices.  But 
he  was  a  real  Union  man,  and  they  could  truly  present  him  as 
such;  and  what  was  quite  as  important,  it  was  believed  he  could 
carry  Tennessee,  owing  to  the  attachment  of  the  Democracy  of 
that  State  to  him.  Its  vote  might  control  the  election.  Hence, 
without  his  disavowing  one  Democratic  sentiment,  or  espousing 
one  of  a  Republican  character,  he  was  nominated.  They  asked  no 
pledges — he  gave  none.  In  accepting  that  nomination,  and  be 
coming  entangled  in  the  meshes  of  Republicanism,  and  consenting 
to  travel  with  them,  he  committed  his  second  mistake,  the  conse 
quences  of  which  are  still  upon  him.  He  should  not  have  ac 
cepted  that  nomination  from  his  political  enemies,  unless  he  in 
tended  to  abandon  his  former  faith,  and  adopt  and  follow  theirs. 
The  case  of  John  Tyler  should  have  warned  him  of  the  conse 
quences  of  being  elected  by  those  whose  principles  he  could  not 
follow  to  the  end. 

When  the  hand  of  a  murderer  had  cut  short  the  days  of  Mr. 
Lincoln,  and  he  became  President,  he  should  then  have  deter- 


ANDEEW   JOHNSON.  335 

mined  whether  he  would  adopt  the  Republican  programme  and 
follow  wherever  it  might  lead,  or  at  once  have  resolved  to  follow 
."Democratic  principles  to  the  end,  and  if  so,  to  have  changed  his 
cabinet  from  Republican  to  one  purely  and  unmistakably  Demo 
cratic,  filled  all  the  important  offices  with  Democrats,  and  made 
his  an  old-fashioned  Democratic  administration  of  the  Jacksonian 
stamp,  with  the  same  fixed  purposes  as  Mr.  Lincoln  had  made  his 
•ourely  Republican.  Not  doing  either  was  a  mistake  of  a  grave 
and  enduring  character,  and  which  never  can  be  remedied.  Had 
lie  formed  in  line  with  the  Democracy  in  the  summer  of  1865,  he 
would  have  had  a  large  and  a  controlling  party  supporting  him. 
The  Republicans  could  not  have  fairly  complained  of  his  thus 
setting  up  for  himself,  as  they  well  knew  he  was  a  Jackson  Demo 
crat  when  they  nominated  and  elected  him  ;  and  if  there  was  any 
wrong  in  the  matter,  it  was  by  the  leaders  imposing  such  a  man 
upon  their  rank  and  file.  A  fourth  mistake  was,  that  when  he 
put  forth  Democratic  doctrine  in  his  messages,  he  did  not  sustain 
himself  by  removing  those  who  denounced  him  for  having  done 
so.  He  preached  Democracy,  and  undoubtedly  honestly  and 
sincerely,  but  allowed  his  officials  to  scout  it,  and  abuse  and  ridi 
cule  him  for  it.  He  was  all  right  on  paper,  and  all  wrong  in 
practice.  A  fifth  mistake  was,  in  consenting  to  the  formation  of  a 
third  party,  with  one  Democratic  and  one  Republican  leg  to  stand 
upon.  Tyler  tried  this,  and  failed.  Mr.  Johnson  meant  well,  but 
that  did  not  prevent  his  falling  into  error  in  practice.  It  was  these 
mistakes  that  enabled  his  enemies  to  entangle  and  bind  him  hand 

O 

and  foot.  As  his  course  presented  him,  the  Republicans  made 
war  upon  him  for  his  correct  principles,  and  the  Democrats  could 
not  rally  to  his  support  because  his  practice  was  not  Democratic, 
but  almost  exclusively  Republican.  Like  Tyler,  he  is  without  a 
party,  and  his  enemies  are  strong  enough  to  carry  every  measure 
they  desire  over  his  veto  and  the  Democratic  votes.  He  is  a  bold 
rcbuker  of  wrong,  but  seems  to  lack  the  courage,  in  practice,  to 
take  and  maintain  his  ground,  and  throw  the  consequences  of 
failures,  if  they  happen,  upon  his  enemies.  But  he  has  allowed 
himself  to  be  badgered,  brow-beaten,  and  threatened,  until  he  has 
consented  to  nominate  the  worst  enemies  of  Democracy  and  of 


336  DEMOCRACY   IN   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

himself  for  high  and  responsible  offices,  some  of  a  life  tenure. 
Nearly  all  the  officials  of  the  Federal  Government,  and  among 
them  members  of  his  cabinet,  are  his  enemies  and  the  detesters 
of  Democratic  principles.  It  is  conceded  that  the  Government 
has  never  been  so  badly  officered  as  at  present,  and  he  now  has 
not  the  means  of  preventing  it  as  long  as  he  consents  to  execute 
unconstitutional  laws.  Mr.  Johnson  is  worthy  of  a  better  fate 
than  that  which  is  upon  him.  Had  he  assumed  when  he  became 
President  the  attitude  which  his  real  principles  required,  and 
showed  that  he  loved  his  friends  better  than  his  enemies,  and  of 
ficered  the  Government  with  Democrats,  the  crisis  that  is  upon  us 
would  have  been  obviated,  and  he  at  the  head  of  a  party  which, 
in  spite  of  all  obstacles,  would  triumph  this  fall.  He  has  all  the 
qualifications  for  a  leader  except  that  unshaken  and  natural  bold 
ness,  that  the  world  so  much  admired  in  General  Jackson,  which 
he  has  only  in  a  limited  degree.  His  boldness  is  rather  the  crea 
ture  of  reflection  than  of  instinct.  His  reasoning  faculties  are 
strong,  and,  aided  by  reflection,  he  is  almost  always  right,  except 
where  he  is  personally  concerned.  In  that  case  there  seems  to  be 
some  halting,  which  never  occurs  with  the  selfish  man.  His  mo 
tives  are  now  fiercely  assailed  by  his  enemies,  and  no  epithet  is 
too  severe  to  apply  to  him.  This  was  so  with  General  Jackson.  No 
one  was  more  fiercely  or  bitterly  denounced.  Now  his  memory  is 
revered  and  cherished  by  his  former  revilers.  History  will  do  Mr. 
Johnson  justice,  and  place  him  far  higher  in  the  temple  of  fame 
than  any  of  his  present  persecutors.  We  say  this  because  we  be 
lieve  it,  and  think  it  due  to  one  who  is  no  friend  of  ours,  but 
whose  persecutions  have  awakened  the  sympathy  of  all  who  agree 
with  us  in  thinking  him  honest  and  a  true  Democrat  at  heart. 

Governor  Seymour,  of  New  York,  thus  forcibly  expresses  him 
self  in  relation  to  President  Johnson,  in  his  address  to  the  Demo 
cratic  State  Convention  on  the  llth  of  March : 

"  I  have  no  political  prejudices  in  favor  of  Mr.  Johnson.  I 
have  never  seen  him.  He  is  not  one  I  helped  to  place  in  office, 
nor  have  I  ever  advised  him  or  been  consulted  by  him  as  to  his 
policy.  I  know  he  has  been  cheated  and  betrayed  by  those  about 
him,  who  plotted  his  destruction  from  the  outset.  But  while  ho 


IMPEACHMENT   OF   PRESIDENT   JOHNSON.  337 

has  been  most  unhappy  in  his  friends,  no  man  has  been  so  fortu 
nate  in  his  enemies.  They  have  given  him  a  high  place  in  history 
as  one  who  suffered  for  the  rights  of  the  American  people.  And 
when  he  shall  go  to  his  final  account,  and  his  friends  seek  in  clear, 
terse,  and  lasting  terms  to  tell  that  he  was  a  man  who  loved  his 
country  and  was  hated  by  the  corrupt  and  treasonable,  they  have 
to  chisel  upon  his  tombstone  that  he  was  impeached  by  this  House 
of  Representatives  and  cendemned  by  this  Senate." 

126.— IMPEACHMENT  OF  PRESIDENT  JOHNSON. 

Political  tacticians,  like  military  strategists,  often  threaten  what 
they  have  no  thought  of  attempting.  It  is  doubtless  true,  that 
the  Republicans  wish  to  get  rid  of  Mr.  Johnson  and  place  the  Gov- 
evnment  in  the  hands  of  a  daring  and  reckless  Republican  who 
would  use  the  army  and  navy  and  all  the  influences  it  could  com 
mand  to  carry  the  next  election,  and  in  the  mean  time  to  allow  the 
most  favored  ones  to  dip  deep  into  the  Treasury.  Whatever  the 
reckless  may  say,  or  the  simple  believe,  the  substantial  Republican 
loaders  would  not  step  upon  what  they  knew  to  be  untenable  ground. 
They  knew,  notwithstanding  what  General  Butler  said  at  Brook 
lyn,  that  impeachment  would  not  lie  for  error  of  opinion,  because 
that  is  no  crime,  and  for  the  reason  that  no  standard  has  yet  been 
established  by  law  with  which  to  make  the  comparison.  On  a 
trial  of  such  a  case,  it  would  be  a  question  of  fact  and  not  of  opin 
ion,  which  the  Senate  would  have  to  try.  A  million  of  witnesses 
might  be  called,  and  the  evidence  stand  equally  balanced.  As  to 
criminal  acts,  the  Senate  could  not,  either  as  a  matter  of  law  or 
fact,  declare  that  they  were  so,  unless  a  statute  had  previously  so 
declared  them.  When  the  law  is  silent,  the  Senate  cannot  declare 
an  act  a  high  crime  or  misdemeanor,  without,  in  fact,  making  a 
law  for  the  case,  an  ex  post  facto  law.  The  most  rigid  scrutiny 
could  not  find  that  Mr.  Johnson  had  violated  any  existing  statute 
law  or  precept  of  religion.  On  the  question  of  receiving  or  ex 
pelling  members,  each  House  is  expressly  clothed  with  the  power  to 
"judge  of  the  elections,  returns,  and  qualifications  of  its  own  mem 
bers,"  and  there  is  no  express  limitation  of  authority.  But  on  im 
peachment,  before  a  conviction  can  be  had,  some  act,  previously 
15 


338  DEMOCRACY    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

declared  by  statute  to  be  a  high  crime  or  misdemeanor,  must  be 
proved,  as  matter  of  fact,  and  not  of  opinion.  The  thinking  men 
of  the  Republican  party  unquestionably  knew  that  no  such  act  could 
be  proved,  and  no  conviction  had.  The  more  reckless  partisans, 
knowing  that  none  could  be  expected,  have  proposed  to  pass  a 
law  to  suspend  the  powers  of  the  President  during  the  trial,  and 
in  that  way  make  the  president  of  the  Senate  acting  President 
during  that  time,  and,  by  consuming  the  residue  of  Mr.  Johnson's 
term  in  the  trial,  about  the  same  result  would  follow  as  if  he  had 
been  actually  convicted.  But  the  more  thoughtful  men  knew 
such  a  law  would  be  unconstitutional,  and  against  former  conclu 
sions  of  the  Senate,  and  therefore  this  plan  has  not  been  attempted 
to  be  carried  out.  The  only  thing  left  is  to  threaten  impeach 
ment,  and  shake  the  nerves  of  Mr.  Johnson,  hoping  that  he  will 
attempt  to  pacify  them  by  conferring  offices  to  order,  and  allowing 
them  such  advantages  as  circumstances  may  permit.  But  they  do 
not  expect  to  carry  out  their  threats.  Many  of  the  States  make 
threatening  and  sending  threatening  letters  a  punishable  offence. 
Are  not  these  perpetual  threats  of  impeachment  as  injurious  and 
offensive  as  those  made  indictable  by  the  State  laws,  and  do  these 
threateners  occupy  a  better  position?  These  revolutionists  in 
Congress,  for  such  they  really  are,  have  not  now  the  remotest  in 
tention  of  entering  upon  an  impeachment  of  the  President.  They 
are  merely  keeping  up  a  show  of  acting  for  their  own  purposes, 
and  perhaps  to  please  buncombe.  But  they  will  sink  under  the 
weight  of  their  own  wrongs  and  infamy,  and,  whatever  may  be 
come  of  the  man  they  are  now  victimizing,  the  people  will  soon 
discard  them  and  place  the  destinies  of  our  country  in  the  hands 
of  the  Democracy,  to  remain  for  a  long  period  of  time. 

Since  the  foregoing  was  written,  new  events  have  occurred,  and 
articles  of  impeachment  have  been  filed  and  the  trial  of  the  Presi 
dent  commenced. 

ACTUAL  IMPEACHMENT. — Since  the  completion  of  the  preced 
ing  article,  President  Johnson  made  an  order  removing  Mr.  Stan- 
ton,  Secretary  of  War,  but  he  still  remains  m  office,  lives  in  the 
department,  and  protects  himself  by  armed  force.  He  has  made 
himself  a  prisoner  to  himself,  with  an  outside  show  of  Government 


IMPEACHMENT   OF    PRESIDENT   JOHNSON.  339 

bayonets.  Adjutant-General  Lorenzo  Thomas  received  an  ad 
interim  appointment,  but  has  not  been  permitted  by  Mr.  Stanton 
to  perform  its  duties.  This  step  on  the  part  of  the  President  re 
kindled  the  fires  of  impeachment,  and  eleven  articles  have  been 
adopted  by  the  House  and  presented  to  the  Senate,  and  he  cited 
to  appear.  He  is  now  on  trial  by  a  court  composed  of  the  Chief 
Justice  and  the  United  States  Senators.  Nearly  every  Republican 
Senator  has,  either  directly  or  indirectly,  formed  and  expressed 
the  opinion  that  the  President  is  guilty,  before  he  took  the  oath 
to  "  do  impartial  justice  according  to  the  Constitution  and  laws." 
Mr.  Wade,  who  is  to  become  President  if  Mr.  Johnson  is  convict 
ed,  was  allowed  by  the  Republican  Senators  to  be  sworn  and  to 
act  as  a  disinterested  trier.  The  charges  are  all  frivolous  and  some 
are  childish.  They  were  got  up,  not  because  the  President  had 
done  any  thing  illegal  or  wrong,  but  to  afford  a  pretext  for  his 
removal  because  "  he  is  in  the  way  "  of  the  schemes  of  the  Repub 
lican  party  for  continuing  in  power,  and  rewarding  their  friends. 
The  charges  are,  in  substance,  these : 

1.  That  he  removed  Edwin  M.  Stanton  from  the  office  of  Sec 
retary  of  War,  contrary  to  the  Civil  Tenure  Office  Act. 

But  this  act,  if  constitutional,  expressly  excepts  those  who 
were  not  appointed  by  him,  leaving  them  subject  to  removal. 

2.  That  he  appointed  General  Thomas  as  ad  interim  Secretary, 
contrary  to  the  act. 

As  that  act  is  unconstitutional  and  void,  this  charge  cannot  be 
sustained.  General  Thomas  was  arrested  as  a  criminal  for  receiv 
ing  this  appointment.  But  nothing  was  done  with  General  Grant 
who  received  precisely  such  an  appointment,  and  the  proceed 
ing  against  General  Thomas  have  been  abandoned  and  dismissed. 

CD          O 

3.  This  charge  is  the  same,  omitting  all  reference  to  the  Tenure 

O  /  O 

of  Office  Act. 

4.  Charges  a  conspiracy  between  the  President  and  Thomas, 
to  prevent  Stanton  from  the  performance  of  his  duties,  by  intimi 
dation  and  threats. 

5.  Contains  the  same  charge,  and  adds,  that  they  conspired 
with  others  unknown,  to  prevent  Stanton  from  holding  office. 

6.  Charges  that  the  President  conspired  with  General  Thomas 


340  DEMOCRACY   IN   THE    UNITED    STATES. 

to  seize  by  force,  take,  and  possess  the  property  of  the  United 
States  then  in  the  hands  of  Stanton,  contrary  to  the  Conspiracy 
Act,  and  by  violating  the  Tenure  of  Office  Law. 

7.  Charges  the  same   thing,  omitting  reference  to  the  Con 
spiracy  Statute. 

8.  Charges  the  President  with  a  violation  of  the  Tenure  of 
Office  Law,  in  order  unlawfully  to  control  the  disbursements  of 
the  military  appropriations. 

9.  That  the  President  called  General  Emory  before  him,  with 
the  intention  of  violating  the  law  requiring  all  military  orders  to 
pass  through  General  Grant,  to  enable  him  to  prevent   Stanton 
from  holding  the  office  of  Secretary  of  War. 

10.  Charges  the  President  with  making  speeches  on  three  dif 
ferent  occasions  which  were  disrespectful  toward  Congress. 

11.  Charges  that,  in  a  speech,  the  President  declared  that, 
owing  to  the  non-admission  of  members  from  the  South,  Congress 
was  not  a  lawfully-constituted  body,  thereby  intending  to  prevent 
the  execution  of  the  statute  which  deprives  him  of  the  command 
of  the  army,  and  to  avoid  the  execution  of  the  Reconstruction  Laws. 

Here  we  have  the  whole  list  of  charges,  not  one  of  which  has 
any  possible  rational  foundation.  He  is  to  be  tried  and  convicted, 
if  the  plans  are  earned  out,  because  he  differs  in  opinion  from  the 
Republican  party  on  questions  of  constitutional  law,  where  he  has 
the  same  right  of  opinion  as  any  other  department  of  the  Govern 
ment.  If  convicted,  it  will  be  for  diiference  of  opinion,  and  not 
for  any  illegal  act. 

The  proceedings  of  this  Court  of  Impeachment,  so  far  as  Re 
publican  Senators  are  concerned,  is  under  the  control  of  a  caucus, 
where  the  majority  dictates  and  compels  the  minority  to  obey. 
There  are  many  Senators  who  disapprove  what  is  being  done,  but 
who  dare  not  disobey  the  dictation  of  the  caucuses,  for  fear  of 
losing  caste  in  their  party,  of  which  they  arc  so  often  reminde-d. 
This  is  also  true  of  other  officials,  and  of  many  individuals  who 
dare  not  do  what  they  think  right  for  fear  of  losing  the  confidence 
of  their  party. 

The  history  of  the  times  presents  some  strange  anomalies. 
Jefferson  Davis,  who  was  at  the  head  of  the  secession  govern- 


IMPEACHMENT   OF    PKESIDENT   JOHNSON.  341 

mcnt,  was  arrested  nearly  three  years  ago  and  is  not  yet  tried,  the 
Republican  court  and  district-attorney  concurring  in  all  the  post 
ponements  that  have  occurred,  and  one  Republican,  at  least,  be 
coming  his  bail.  Mr.  Johnson's  trial  is  hurried  on  before  the 
Court  of  Impeachment  with  indecent  haste,  by  a  party  vote,  not 
allowing  him  and  his  counsel  time  to  prepare  his  defence.  The 
crime  charged  against  Mr.  Davis  is,  that  he  believed  the  secession 
States  were  legally  out  of  the  Union,  and  he  tried  to  keep  them 
out,  and  thus  committed  treason.  Mr.  Johnson's  crime  is,  in  sub 
stance  and  effect,  that  he  believes  they  v/ere  not  legally  out  of  the 
Union,  and  he  seeks  to  restore  and  keep  them  in,  and  for  this  he 
is,  in  substance  and  effect,  impeached.  The  Republicans  have 
ceased  to  denounce  Mr.  Davis,  and  heap  curses  mountains  high 
upon  Mr.  Johnson  for  seeking  to  do  what  we  fought  for,  to  restore 
the  Union.  Such  are  the  inconsistencies  of  Republicanism. 

ACTUAL  TRIAL. — The  managers  on  the  part  of  the  House  so 
conducted  the  trial  as  to  disgust  the  honest  men  of  the  country. 
They  scarcely  discussed  the  issues  at  all,  but  gave  over  a  hundred 
columns  in  the  newspapers  of  bitter  rant  against  the  President, 
having  nothing  to  do  with  the  matters  charged  in  the  articles  of 
impeachment.  They  made  it  clear  that  the  object  was  to  get  rid 
of  him,  without  reference  to  the  charges  they  had  presented.  At 
their  instance,  the  Senate  excluded  the  evidence  of  the  President's 
good  intentions.  They  were  answered  by  the  President's  counsel 
in  a  calm,  dignified,  forcible,  and  conclusive  manner.  They  left 
no  question  of  doubt  open. 

The  Republican  press  and  politicians  came  to  the  assistance 
of  the  managers,  seeking  to  induce  the  Senate  to  convict  at  all 
hazards.  The  following  from  the  New-York  Tribune  is  a  fair 
specimen  of  their  efforts.  It  was  aimed  at  Senator  Fessenden : 

"  To  vote  in  favor  of  impeachment  is  merely  to  repeat  votes 
that  have  been  given  a  hundred  times.  If  it  were  wise  to  assail 
Mr.  Johnson  for  his  policy,  it  is  just  to  punish  him.  His  impeach 
ment  is  the  logical  consequence  of  Republicanism,  and  no  Repub 
lican  can  vote  against  it  without  making  himself  infamous.  The 
only  alternative  is  IMPEACHMENT  OR  INFAMY.  If  Johnson  is  ac 
quitted,  then  the  whole  course  of  these  men  is  a  LIE,  and  their 


342  DEMOCEACT   IN   THE    UNITED   STATES. 

deception  is  INFAMOUS.  They  led  the  party  to  this  issue.  They 
educated  it  to  the  work.  They  echoed  every  denunciation,  and 
emphasized  every  criticism  of  the  President's  policy.  If  they 
have  been  honest  in  this,  then  impeachment  is  as  sure  as  the  sun. 

"  It  is  because  we  believe  in  their  honesty  that  we  rest  assured 
of  a  favorable  verdict.  American  history  has  had  one  Benedict 
Arnold.  Money  is  precious,  and  sweet  is  the  revenge,  of  disap 
pointed  ambition.  We  are  certain  that  neither  money  nor  revenge 
will  seduce  any  Senator  into  an  infamous  association  with  Ameri 
ca's  most  degraded  son." 

The  following  was  issued  by  the  same  paper  to  deter  Senators 
generally  from  voting  according  to  their  convictions : 

"  The  Republican  Senator  who  rises  in  his  seat  to-morrow  and 
votes  '  not  guilty,'  virtually  says,  '  I  am  the  same  as  Andrew  John 
son.  I  am  his  defender  and  apologist.  I  go  into  history  as  his 
companion.  His  deeds  are  my  deeds — his  speeches  are  my 
speeches.  I  give  to  his  past  career  my  approval.  I  accept  the 
responsibility  of  any  thing  he  may  do  in  times  to  come.  The 
pardons  of  unrepentant  rebels,  the  massacres  in  New  Orleans  and 
Memphis,  the  unpunished  murders  in  the  South,  the  frauds  in  the 
revenues,  the  anarchy  in  many  parts  of  the  South,  his  indecent 
and  incoherent  speeches,  so  justly  called,  even  by  his  counsel, 
Mr.  Evarts,  "  the  voice  of  the  beaten  rebellion,"  now  receive  my 
commendation.'  For  remember  that  Senators  are  not  merely 
jurors  but  statesmen !  If  this  were  a  charge  against  Mr.  John 
son  affecting  his  own  personal  safety  and  comfort,  and  of  conse 
quence  to  no  one  else,  we  might  pardon  a  verdict  of  release." 

The  members  of  the  House  of  Representatives  from  Missouri 
disgraced  themselves  and  dishonored  their  State  by  sending  to 
one  of  its  Senators  a  letter  in  these  words : 

WASHINGTON,  Jfat/  12, 1SC3. 
Hon.  JOHN  B.  HENDERSON',  United  States  Senate — 

SIR  :  On  a  consultation  of  the  Republican  members  of  the  Hou.se  of  Repre 
sentatives  from  Missouri,  in  view  of  your  position  on  the  impeachment  articles, 
we  ask  you  to  withhold  your  vote  on  any  article  upon  which  you  cannot  vote 
affirmatively.  The  request  is  made  because  we  believe  the  safety  of  the  loyal 
people  of  the  United  States  demands  the  immediate  removal  of  Andrew  John 
son  from  the  office  of  President  of  the  United  States.  Respectfully, 

GEO.  W.  ANDERSON,  WM.  A.  PILE,  0.  A.  NEWCOMB, 

Jos.  "W.  MoCi/uKG,  BENJAMIN  F.  LOAN,       JOHN  F.  BENJAMIN, 

JOSEPH  J.  GRAVELY. 


IMPEACHMENT   OF   PRESIDENT   JOHNSON.  343 

A  noble  decision  : 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  May  13. 
To  E.  W.  Fox,  St.  Loms  : 

Say  to  my  friends  that  I  am  sworn  to  do  impartial  justice  according  to  law 
£,nd  the  evidence,  and  I  will  try  to  do  it  like  an  honest  man. 

J.  B.  HENDERSON. 

The  chairman  of  the  Committee  of  Ways  and  Means  in  the 
.[louse  sent  this  to  West  Virginia : 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  May  12, 1868. 

Great  danger  to  the  peace  of  the  country  and  the  Republican  cause  if  im 
peachment  fails.  Send  to  your  Senators  public  opinion  by  resolutions,  letters, 
and  delegations.  EGBERT  C.  SCHENCK,  Chairman. 

Wade,  president  pro  tempore  of  the  Senate,  and  who  is  one  of 
the  triers  of  the  President  and  expects  his  place,  telegraphed  thus : 

To  JAMES  M.  SCOVEL  :  It  is  all  right.  The  President  will  be  impeached. 
Nothing  can  prevent  it.  B.  F.  WADE. 

He  was  asked  by  a  political  friend  if  he  should  vote  on  the  trial, 
and  replied,  "  If  I  had  twenty  votes  I  would  give  them  all." 

These  are  specimens  of  what  has  been  published  to  secure 
conviction.  Senators  are  called  upon,  not  to  act  judicially,  hon 
estly,  and  wisely,  but  to  convict  at  all  events.  Even  public  meet 
ings  have  been  called  to  aid  in  the  same  object.  Thousands  of 
letters  have  been  written  for  the  same  purpose,  and  an  army  of 
politicians  have  attended  at  Washington  to  control  the  votes  of 
Senators.  Never,  in  the  history  of  man,  have  such  efforts  been 
resorted  to  for  controlling  judicial  proceedings.  No  State  or  na 
tional  court  would  consent  to  be  thus  insulted,  and  why  should 
the  Senate,  sitting  as  the  highest  court  in  the  world  ?  We  give 
the  final  action  of  the  Senatorial  Court  as  Appendix  Number  2. 
This  attempt  to  destroy  the  President  will  destroy  the  party  en 
gaged  in  it.  The  Republicans  who  refuse  to  lend  themselves  to 
this  purpose,  are  among  the  ablest,  wisest,  and  best  men  of  that 
party,  who  have  something  to  lose  by  doing  wrong,  which  cannot 
be  said  of  those  who  go  for  a  judicial  conviction  upon  grounds 
of  mere  political  policy.  Such  men  as  Fessenden,  Trumbull, 
Grimes,  and  others,  though  our  political  adversaries,  are  an  honor 
to  their  party  and  country,  and  are  not  to  be  crushed  out  to  grat 
ify  politicians  who  can  only  rise  upon  the  downfall  of  men  better 
than  themselves. 


34:4:  DEMOCRACY    IN   THE    UNITED    STATES. 


127.— CONGRESS  AXD  THE  SUPREME  COURT. 

The  legislation  of  Congress,  concerning  the  Supreme  Court, 
has  been  of  an  extraordinary  character  for  the  last  few  years. 
That  Court  had  been  severely  censured  and  denounced  for  its  de 
cision  in  the  Dred  Scott  case.  The  more  ardent  Republican  par 
tisans  proposed,  when  Mr.  Lincoln  came  in,  to  abolish  the  court, 
and  thus  get  rid  of  those  who  dscided  it  and  appoint  a  full  new 
court  professing  Republican  principles.  But  as  the  judges  were 
appointed  during  good  behavior — during  life — no  repeal  of  the  law 
under  which  they  were  appointed  would  deprive  them  of  their 
commissions.  The  more  prudent  men  thought  it  would  have  an 
ugly  look  to  have  two  sets  of  Supreme  Court  judges,  one  on  the 
bench  performing  duty,  and  the  other  off  awaiting  duty ;  and  so 
this  scheme  was  abandoned.  But  the  leaders  agreed  that  the 
court  must  be  Republicanizcd.  On  the  3d  of  March,  18G3,  the 
court  consisted  of  nine  judges,  six  of  whom  were  Democrats,  or 
anti-Republicans.  Congress  then  passed  an  act  adding  another 
judge,  declaring  six  a  quorum,  and  Mr.  Lincoln  appointed  a  po 
litical  friend  to  the  new  office.  On  the  12th  of  October,  1864, 
Chief-Justice  Taney  died,  and  S.  P.  Chase  was  appointed  in  his 
place.  The  court  then  stood  five  Democrats  and  five  Republicans, 
being  equally  divided.  Soon  after  Chief-Justice  Chase  entered 
upon  his  duties — May  30,  1865 — Mr.  Justice  Catron  died,  which 
left  a  majority  of  Republicans  on  the  bench.  Mr.  Johnson  pro 
posed  to  fill  his  place  with  a  political  friend,  and  probably  a  Demo 
crat,  but  the  Senate  would  not  consent.  Had  it  done  so,  the  court 
would  have  continued  equally  divided  between  the  two  political 
parties.  To  obviate  this  difficulty,  and  to  secure  a  majority  of 
Republican  judges,  Congress  changed  its  policy,  and  on  the  23d 
of  July,  1866,  passed  an  act  to  reduce  the  number  of  judges  from 
ton  down  to  six.  The  act  provides  that  no  vacancies  in  the  office 
of  justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  shall  be  filled  until  the  number 
shall  be  reduced  to  six.  Hence  the  vacancy  occasioned  by  the 
death  of  Justice  Catron  has  not  been  filled,  nor  has  Justice  Wayne's, 
who  died  last  year.  The  court  now  consists  of  eight  members, 
five  of  whom  are  Republicans.  These  two  acts  present  extraor- 


CONGKESS    AND   THE    SUPKEME    COUBT.  345 

dinary  shifts,  which  no  one  can  call  just  or  honest,  to  secure  the 
political  ascendency  in  our  highest  judicial  tribunal.  That  the 
judges  were  not  able  to  attend  and  perform  all  their  circuit  du 
ties,  has  long  been  known,  and  that  was  the  excuse  for  raising  the 
number  of  judges  to  ten,  and  constituting  ten  circuits.  In  the 
act  reducing  the  number  of  judges,  the  circuits  are  reduced  to 
nine.  Hence  there  is  now  one  circuit  without  a  Supreme  Court 
judge  to  preside,  and,  since  the  death  of  Judge  AVayne,  there  have 
been  two,  and  in  the  end  there  will  be  four.  Such  are  some  of 
the  consequences  of  political  manoeuvring  with  courts. 

But  even  these  changes  do  not  satisfy  the  Republican  leaders. 
Some  of  the  Republican  judges  do  not  follow  all  their  wild  and 
reckless  leaders,  and  occasionally  hold  the  legislation  of  Congress 
unconstitutional  and  void,  and  some  of  the  acts  of  Republican  tri 
bunals  illegal.  It  is  now  gravely  proposed  to  require  three-fourths 
of  the  court  to  make  a  decision,  and  to  withdraw  certain  questions 
from  the  consideration  of  the  court — for  instance,  the  constitu 
tionality  of  the  reconstruction  and  other  acts  of  Congress — for  fear 
that  such  acts  may  be  held  to  be  unconstitutional  and  void.  They 
fear  a  court  constituted  of  a  majority  of  their  own  party — judges 
selected  at  their  instance  and  appointed  by  a  Republican  Presi 
dent,  with  the  consent  of  a  Republican  Senate.  They  see  that 
the  Court  must  take  the  back  track,  and  reverse  and  condemn  its 
own  action,  or  it  must  refuse  to  uphold  the  action  of  Congress. 
A  well-constituted  court  cannot  follow  the  lead  of  a  political  par 
ty.  Hence  their  desperation  and  extraordinary  course  on  the 
subject  of  this  court.  The  proceedings  of  Congress  must  be  con 
demned  either  for  increasing  or  diminishing  the  number  of  mem 
bers  of  this  court.  The  two  positions  are  in  conflict,  and  both 
cannot  stand.  If  the  new  propositions  are  enacted,  it  will  serve 
to  increase  the  embarrassments  of  those  who  do  it,  instead  of  re 
lieving  them  ;  it  will  be  found  unprofitable  to  try  to  use  the  courts 
as  political  machines,  to  decide  according  to  order.  But  Congress 
is  now  taking  a  new  tack.  It  proposes  not  only  to  control  the 
Executive,  but  also  to  forbid  the  Judicial  Department  to  act  in  cases 
before  it,  until  it  shall  permit.  It  claims  that  it  is  the  political 
department  of  the  Government,  and  that  it  alone  is  competent  to 
15* 


346  DEMOCRACY   IN   THE    UNITED    STATES. 

determine  political  questions.  In  this,  Congress  assumes  more 
than  is  true.  The  judiciary  has  properly  decided  that  it  will  not 
determine  political  questions,  but  will  confine  itself  to  those  of 
law ;  but  that  on  political  questions  it  will  follow  the  action  of 
those  departments  that  control  such  questions.  But  it  has  not 
said  that  Congress  alone  can  determine  political  questions.  On 
the  contrary,  in  Luther  vs.  Borden — the  Khode  Island  case  (7 
Peters,  1) — the  Supreme  Court  expressly  recognizes  the  right  of  the 
President,  where  there  are  two  parties,  each  claiming  to  be  the 
true  State  government,  to  decide  the  question,  and  the  court  fol- 
loAved  the  decision  of  President  Tyler  on  that  subject.  The  Chief 
Justice  said:  "If  there  is  an  armed  conflict,  like  the  one  of  which 
we  are  speaking,  it  is  a  case  of  domestic  violence,  and  one  of  the 
parties  must  be  in  insurrection  against  the  lawful  government. 
And  the  President  must,  of  necessity,  decide  which  is  the  govern 
ment,  and  which  party  is  unlawfully  arrayed  against  it,  before  he 
can  perform  the  duty  imposed  upon  him  by  the  act  of  Congress. 
.  ...  In  cases  of  foreign  nations,  the  government  acknowledged 
by  the  President  is  always  recognized  by  the  courts  of  justice. 
And  this  principle  has  been  applied  by  the  act  of  Congress  to  the 
sovereign  States  of  the  Union." 

Mr.  Trumbull,  in  the  bill  lately  introduced  in  the  Senate,  has 
not  truly  stated  the  action  of  the  Supreme  Court  in  past  cases,  nor 
is  he  correct  in  stating  that  it  rests  exclusively  with  Congress  to 
determine  whether  a  State  government  exists  or  not,  under  the 
reconstruction  laws.  Under  the  decision  quoted,  the  Executive 
has  as  much  right  as  Congress  to  determine  that  question,  and  the 
courts  are  bound  to  recognize  his  acts.  Congress  seems  to  sup 
pose  that  it  can  force  upon  a  State  what  it  thinks  is  a  republican 
form  of  government.  It  has  no  such  power.  When  Congress  ad 
mits  a  State ,  it  cannot  go  back  of  the  admission  and  inquire 
whether,  in  the  judgment  of  Congress,  it  has  a  republican  form 
of  government.  The  United  States  have  guaranteed  to  protect  a 
State  in  such  a  form.  But  until  the  State  calls  upon  the  United 
States  to  fulfil  this  obligation,  the  government  has  nothing  to  do 
with  the  question.  If  the  State  organized  a  government  satisfac 
tory  to  itself,  that  is  all  that  can  be  required.  Congress  has  no 


CONGRESS  AND  THE  SUPEEME  COCET.        347 

special  power  over  the  subject.  The  guaranty  is  by  the  United 
States,  and  not  by  Congress.  That  body  is  not  clothed  with  any 
special  power  to  determine  whether  a  State  has  or  has  not  a  gov 
ernment  republican  in  form,  which  it  is  to  protect,  before  it  is  called 
upon  to  fulfil  the  guaranty.  The  statutes  of  the  United  States,  as 
in  the  Rhode  Island  case,  place  this  question  in  the  hands  of  the 
President,  when  properly  called  upon  by  the  Legislature  or  Gov 
ernor.  If  the  power  thus  provided  is  insufficient  to  protect  the 
State,  then,  and  then  only,  can  Congress  be  called  upon  for  greater 
assistance,  not  to  make  or  force  amendments  of  her  constitution ; 
but  if  it  is,  in  the  opinion  of  Congress,  republican  in  form,  then 
it  will  aid  the  President  in  protecting  such  State.  If  it  has  not 
such  a  form,  then  Congress,  as  one  branch  of  the  Government, 
can  refuse  its  aid,  and  nothing  more.  The  guaranty  is  clear  and 
explicit,  and  Congress  cannot  by  its  action,  in  denying  the  right 
claimed,  bind  any  branch  of  the  Government  but  the  legislative. 
If  a  State  is  satisfied  with  its  government,  even  if  not  republican 
in  form,  Congress  cannot  change  it,  nor  require  the  State  to  do  so, 
nor  can  it  refuse  any  of  its  constitutional  privileges  because  it  will 
not  change.  "While  Rhode  Island  lived  under  its  charter  from  an 
English  monarch,  its  government  was  not  republican  in  form, 
and  still  the  Federal  Government,  as  late  as  1843,  fulfilled  its  guar 
anty  of  protection,  and,  on  the  action  of  the  President,  sustained 
it  against  the  Dorr  government,  which  represented  the  majority 
of  the  people,  with  a  constitution  republican  in  form.  The  recent 
movements  in  Congress  are  based  upon  these  principles — that  Con 
gress  alone  controls  all  political  power ;  that  they  have  the  ex 
clusive  right  to  determine  what  laws  are  political;  that  they 
determine  all  the  reconstruction  and  other  kindred  laws  to  be 
political,  and  therefore  no  other  department  of  the  Government 
has  authority  to  do  or  say  any  thing  concerning  them ;  and  they 
forbid  the  Executive  and  the  courts  from  construing  or  acting  under 
them.  In  all  this  Congress  is  clearly  wrong,  and  attempting  to 
usurp  the  powers  of  all  other  departments  of  the  Government.  If 
this  is  to  be  submitted  to,  then  we  live  under  a  consolidated  Gov 
ernment,  without  distribution  of  powers,  and  where  the  Legislature 
can  make,  construe,  and  execute  laws  with  no  power  of  restraint 


348  DEMOCRACY   IN   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

upon  it,  and  the  courts  are  mere  ciphers.     Instead  of  a  Govern 
ment  having  three  departments,  it  would  consist  of  one  only. 

Should  the  President  be  convicted  and  removed  from  office, 
and  Mr.  Wade  come  into  the  presidential  chair,  the  Supreme 
Court  is  to  receive  further  attention  from  Congress.  Instead  of 
permitting  the  number  of  judges  to  be  reduced  to  six,  as  the  law 
now  requires,  it  is  the  intention  to  increase  it  to  thirteen,  thus 
allowing  him  to  select  and  add  six  to  the  present  number.  These 
will,  of  course,  be  partisans  of  the  extreme  radical  stamp.  By 
this  large  addition  it  is  expected  that  the  court  will  long  remain 
Republican,  and  sustain  whatever  laws  that  party  in  Congress 
may  pass.  In  that  event,  there  will  be  no  possible  restraint  upon 
their  exercise  of  power.  With  Mr.  Wade  at  the  head,  and  the 
Court  obedient  to  the  will  of  Congress,  our  Government  will  be 
come  changed  in  its  character,  and  constitutional  liberty  cease  to 
exist  among  us.  We  shall  live  under  a  purely  legislative  tyranny, 
devoting  its  energies  to  taxing  the  people  and  to  the  perpetuation 
of  its  power. 

128.—  DESTRUCTION  OF   THE    HIGHEST  COURT  IN   THE  DISTRICT 
OF  COLUMBIA. 

When  Mr.  Lincoln  came  into  power  there  was  a  civil  court  in 
the  District  of  Columbia,  called  the  Circuit  Court,  with  similar 
powers  of  other  United  States  Circuit  Courts,  and  which  was  also 
an  appellate  court.  There  was  also  a  criminal  court,  with  the 
usual  powers  of  a  Court  of  Oyer  and  Termincr  and  General  Ses 
sions.  In  the  former  were  three  able,  learned,  and  good  men, 
two  of  whom  had  sat  there  for  many  years.  There  was  a  vacancy 
in  the  criminal  court,  the  sole  judge  having  recently  died.  In 
the  civil  court  the  judges  continued  to  execute  the  Fugitive-Slave 
Law,  and  to  issue  the  writ  of  habeas  corpus,  as  had  been  usual  be 
fore  the  war.  This  gave  great  offence  to  the  Republicans,  who 
declared  that  these  wrere  impcachable  offences.  Congress  took 
up  the  subject,  but,  instead  of  impeaching,  a  bill  was  promptly 
passed  by  both  Houses,  and  approved  by  Mr.  Lincoln,  abolishing 
both  courts,  and  creating  one  with  four  judges,  to  be  called  the 
Supreme  Court  of  the  District,  with  both  civil  and  criminal  juris- 


EXCHANGE    OF   PRISONERS    DURING   THE    WAR.  349 


diction.  This  court  was  filled  with  non-resident  judges  —  one 
from  Ohio,  one  from  New  York,  one  from  Delasvare,  and  one 
U'om  Virginia,  neither  of  whom  had  any  knowledge  of  the  laws 
or  the  practice  under  them  in  the  District,  and  neither  with,  any 
considerable  reputation  as  lawyers.  Three  of  them  had  been  in 
Congress.  They  all  had  the  reputation  of  being  extreme  parti 
sans  of  the  Republican  stamp,  except  the  last,  who  was  only  mod 
erate.  The  new  Chief  Justice  has  been,  since  his  appointment, 
an  active  and  busy  politician  of  the  severe  kind.  A  majority  of 
this  court  could  be  relied  upon  on  all  questions  where  Republican 
partisan  grounds  were  at  the  bottom,  and  it  was  not  expected  that 
it  would  venture  to  declare  any  law  which  Congress  might  pass 
to  be  unconstitutional,  or  any  act  of  President  Lincoln  or  his  ad 
ministration  to  be  illegal.  Here  was  a  court,  composed  of  men  in 
no  wise  inferior  to  those  now  on  the  bench,  legislated  out  of  office 
for  political  purposes.  No  charge  was  ever  preferred  against 
Judges  Dunlop,  Morsell,  or  Merrick.  The  bar  were  satisfied 
with  them,  as  were  the  suitors  of  the  court.  But  they  had  the 
audacity  to  execute  their  duties  as  judges,  and,  it  was  feared, 
would  not  prove  subservient  enough  to  please  the  Administration. 
They  stood,  politically,  one  Democrat  and  two  Whigs.  Their 
commissions,  like  all  commissions  of  judges  of  the  Federal  courts, 
were  during  good  behavior.  The  court  is  abolished  and  gone,  by 
statute,  but  they  are  judges  still,  in  waiting  for  an  opportunity  to 
perform  their  duties,  and  entitled  to  pay  as  such,  though  they 
have  received  none  since  they  were  legislated  off  the  bench.  Po 
litical  legislation,  to  overthrow  or  build  up  courts,  is  against  the 
genius  of  our  institutions.  The  Constitution,  by  express  provision, 
protects  the  courts  from  such  wanton  acts.  But  nothing  stands 
long  in  the  way  of  the  partisan  feelings  and  interests  of  the  Repub 
licans  of  our  day.  They  treat  the  Constitution  as  a  by-gone  in 
strument,  not  entitled  to  respect  when  it  stands  in  the  way  of  the 
will  of  Congress. 

129.—  EXCHANGE  OF  PRISONERS  DURING  THE  WAR. 

One  of  the  objections  raised  against  Mr.  Cameron,  as  Secre 
tary  of  War,  was  his  declining  to  exchange  prisoners  of  war  upon 


350  DEMOCRACY    IN   THE    UNITED   STATES. 

the  usual  terms.  When  Mr.  Stanton  came  in,  he  openly  avowed 
his  intention  of  making  exchanges,  on  the  ground  of  humanity  to 
our  men  then  prisoners  with  the  rehels.  The  sentiment  as  avowed 
was  not  only  justifiable,  but  was  clearly  right.  How  far  he  acted 
in  conformity  with  his  professed  intentions  is  not  known.  But, 
ere  long,  exchanges  substantially  ceased.  The  Confederates  had 
enacted  a  statute  directing  that,  when  their  officers  sliould  take 
negroes  who  were  or  had  been  slaves,  they  should  be  sent 
to  the  States  where  they  belonged,  to  be  delivered  up  to  their 
masters,  which  prevented  the  exchange  of  negroes  by  the  Confed 
erate  officers.  This  state  of  things  could  only  be  changed  by  an 
act  of  the  Confederate  Congress,  which  was  not  done.  The  abo 
litionists  and  many  Republicans  took  exceptions  to  exchanging  at 
all,  unless  the  negroes  should  be  included.  They  were  willing  the 
white  soldiers  imprisoned  by  the  secessionists  should  remain  shut 
up,  with  hard  fare,  or  almost  none  at  all,  and  die  off,  if  the  negroes 
could  not  also  be  exchanged  at  the  same  time,  to  prevent  their  de 
livery  to  the  State  authorities  to  be  returned  to  their  masters,  in 
conformity  with  the  Confederate  law.  The  appeals  of  those  suf 
fering  in  prison  and  their  friends  produced  no  change  in  the  pur 
poses  of  those  who  were  willing  to  punish  thousands  of  patriotic 
white  men  to  carry  a  point  concerning  the  negro.  They  were 
willing  to  see  white  men  perish,  as  they  did  in  vast  numbers,  rather 
than  to  permit  the  slave  to  be  returned  to  his  master  if  claimed. 
Their  sympathies  were  all  for  a  few  negroes,  leaving  the  white 
men  to  perish  for  want  of  freedom  and  exercise,  and  the  food, 
clothing,  attention,  and  the  kind  treatment  of  home.  They  com 
plained  of  the  injustice  and  inhumanity  of  the  treatment  of  our 
prisoners,  but  stood  in  the  way  of  relieving  them  by  exchange. 
They  would  permit  the  white  man  to  be  punished,  to  starve  and 
die,  in  preference  to  having  the  negro  returned,  under  the  Confed 
erate  law,  to  the  man  who  was  bound  to  take  care  of  and  provide 
for  him.  If  they  could  not  secure  all  they  wanted,  they  preferred 
all  our  men  in  prison  should  die  miserable  deaths. 

The  public  has  never  been  satisfied  with  this  refusal  to  ex 
change  prisoners.  The  Confederate  authorities  offered  several 
times  to  exchange,  wrote  letters  to  our  officers,  and  they  wrote  to 


EXCHANGE   OF   PRISONERS   DURING   THE    WAR.  351 

the  War  Department,  but  received  no  written  answer,  and  no  ac 
ceptance  of  the  offers.  The  newspapers  charged  that  the  Secre 
tary  of  War  declared  he  would  not  exchange  healthy  rebel  pris 
oners  for  our  sick  and  skeleton  men  in  the  enemy's  prisons, 
because  it  would  add  to  the  number  of  fighting  men  of  the  rebels, 
and  few,  if  any,  to  our  ranks.  If  this  was  his  motive,  it  is  less 
honorable  than  the  abolition  effort  to  protect  the  negro.  Another 
motive  may  have  contributed  something  to  this  resolution.  By 
painting  the  horrors  of  the  rebel  prisons  and  the  frightful  condi 
tion  of  our  men  in  them,  a  feeling  of  burning  vengeance  might 
be  engendered,  and  result  in  the  friends  of  the  prisoners,  and 
thousands  of  others,  rushing  into  our  ranks  to  crush  out  those 
guilty  of  the  crimes  imputed  to  the  Confederates.  But  whether 
Mr.  Stanton  used  the  words  attributed  to  him  or  not,  there  can 
be  no  question  that  the  Administration  was  impelled  by  the  mo 
tive  attributed  to  him.  Whether  the  thought  originated  in  the 
cabinet  with  Mr.  Lincoln  or  Stanton,  or  in  the  field  among  the  of 
ficers,  it  is  certain  that  General  Grant  acted  in  conformity  with  it. 
The  authority  of  Swinton,  in  his  work,  "  The  Army  of  the  Poto 
mac,"  has  never  been  called  in  question.  At  page  1*71  he  says: 
"  The  South  did  not  so  much  lack  men,  as  the  men  lacked  inter 
est  in  the  war.  The  conscription  then  became  odious,  and  eva 
sion  universal,  while  those  who  wished  to  escape  military  ser 
vice  readily  found  those  at  home  willing  to  open  their  ranks,  let 
them  slip  through,  and  close  up  behind  them.  It  finally  came 
about  that  men  enough  to  form  three  armies  of  the  strength  of 
Lee's  lay,  perdu,  beyond  the  power  of  recovery  of  the  Richmond 
authorities.  To  this  must  be  added  the  fact  that  a  prodigious 
number  of  Confederate  troops — probably  as  many  as  there  were  in 
the  ranks  of  both  Lee  and  Johnston — were,  during  the  last  eighteen 
months  of  the  war,  kept  out  of  the  field  by  being  retained  as  prison 
ers  at  the  North,  under  a  fixed  determination  of  General  Grant  not 
to  exchange  them — a  measure  that  was  certainly  an  effectual  agency 
in  the  Lieutenant-General's  avowed  plan  of  '  hammering  continu 
ously  against  the  armed  force  of  the  enemy  and  his  resources  until 
by  mere  attrition,  if  by  no  other  way,  there  should  be  nothing 
left  of  him.' "  Swinton  was  with  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  and 


352  DEMOCRACY    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

saw  and  heard  what  occurred,  and  a  witness  to  the  avowed 
objects  of  General  Grant,  who  was  certainly  acting  upon  the 
motives  imputed  to  Stariton.  Concerning  this  there  can  be  no 
mistake.  This  renders  it  perfectly  certain  that  the  thousands 
who  perished  in  rebel  prisons  were  the  helpless  victims  of  a  pol 
icy  acted  upon  by  Grant,  and  assented  to,  if  not  dictated,  by  Lin 
coln,  Stanton,  and  the  Administration.  They  at  first  pretended 
that  the  rebels  would  not  exchange.  That  pretence  has  been 
effectually  and  conclusively  disproved ;  and  we  now  have  the  fact 
staring  us  in  the  face  that  the  non-exchange  was  the  fault  of  our 
side,  carrying  out  a  fixed  determination  not  to  exchange,  under 
the  apprehension  that  the  Confederates  would  return  to  their 
ranks  and  do  service,  and  that  our  soldiers  were  not  sufficiently 
patriotic  to  do  so,  which  is  a  gross  slander  upon  them.  It  was 
the  Confederates,  and  not  our  men,  who  sought,  at  this  time,  to 
slip  away  from  service.  Our  army  was  almost  entirely  composed 
of  volunteers,  while  theirs  was  largely  made  up  of  unwilling  con 
scripts,  to  obtain  which  General  Grant  said  "  they  have  robbed 
the  cradle  and  the  grave."  Our  commissary  and  pay  depart 
ments  were  well  supplied,  while  their  commissariat  scarcely  pre 
vented  starvation,  and  their  paymasters  were  without  available 
money.  General  Johnston,  after  his  surrender,  attributed  their 
failure  to  these  deficiencies.  Hence,  if  the  exchanges  had  been 
made,  it  is  probable  that  a  greater  proportion  of  our  men  than  of 
the  Confederates  would  have  returned  to  the  field  for  duty.  Our 
men  had  a  right  to  demand  an  exchange,  without  regard  to  its 
effect  upon  the  fighting  part  of  the  army.  We  had  volunteers 
enough  to  do  all  the  fighting,  without  murdering  our  men  in  the 
Confederate  prisons,  for  fear  their  exchange  might  add  to  the 
numbers  of  the  fighting  men  of  the  enemy.  The  laws  of  human 
ity,  the  laws  of  war,  the  laws  of  duty  required  this,  but  all  three 
were  violated;  for  which  no  valid  excuse  can  be  rendered, 
whether  the  fault  lay  with  the  Administration,  or  with  Grant, 
whose  disregard  of  the  health,  comfort,  and  lives  of  his  men,  since 
his  campaign  from  Washington  to  Richmond,  has  become  so 
proverbial.  There  can  be  no  denial  of  the  existence  of  the  inhu 
man  abandonment  of  our  soldiers  to  the  fate  of  starving,  sicken- 


WHAT   OUK    COUNTRY    WAS,    IS,    AND   MAY    BE.  353 

ing,  and  dying  prisoners,  nor  that  it  was  the  duty  of  the  Adminis 
tration  to  rescue  them,  if  among  human  possibilities,  nor  that  they 
were  neglected  and  abandoned  to  die  in  filth  and  rags,  far  away 
::rom  friends  and  home.  Cursing  those  who  thus  kept  them  was 
no  remedy.  There  was  an  easy  one  offered,  and  the  Administra 
tion  would  neither  accept  nor  openly  refuse.  For  this  inhuman 
conduct  the  Administration,  and  especially  Stanton  and  General 
Grant,  are  responsible.  They  meet  the  same  condemnation  so 
freely  bestowed  upon  the  enemy  by  the  country.  The  facts  of 
history  trace  the  fault  to  them — to  motives  which  no  man  with  a 
human  heart  can  approve.  They  have  not  even  attempted  to  de 
fend  themselves,  or  to  show  that  the  fault  belonged  elsewhere. 
Silence  is  their  best  shield.  But  the  country  is  now  beginning  to 
understand  the  matter — is  finding  out  that  this  great  crime 
against  our  soldiers  was  part  of  a  settled  purpose  of  those  con 
trolling  our  armies — a  plan  prepared  in  cold  blood  to  terminate 
in  miserable  deaths.  Let  the  people  look  to  the  facts,  contem 
plate  the  motives,  and  pass  the  proper  judgment  upon  those 
guilty  of  such  cold-blooded  and  inhuman  conduct.  Let  a  lesson 
now  be  taught  which  shall  protect  against  future  repetition. 

130.— WHAT  OUR  COUNTRY  WAS,  IS,  AND  MAY  BE. 

1.  The  scattered  colonies  of  1776  contained  fewer  white  men 
than  now  inhabit  New  York.  Being  unwilling  to  be  controlled  by 
a  distant,  unlimited  government,  in  which  they  were  not  repre 
sented,  this  handful  of  men  declared  their  independence,  fought, 
and  won  it.  Since  the  organization  of  the  constitutional  Govern 
ment  in  1789.  our  progress  and  prosperity  have  been  almost 
magical.  Out  of  our  then  Territories  ten  new  States  were  formed 
and  admitted,  and  at  the  last  census  contained  near  twelve  mill 
ions  of  industrious  and  thrifty  inhabitants.  The  purchase  from 
Spain  became  a  State,  where  tropical  productions  arrive  at  per 
fection.  Mr.  Jefferson's  acquisition  of  Louisiana  has  resulted  in 
organizing  and  admitting  ten  new  States,  leaving  seven  Territories 
for  future  consideration.  In  1860  our  population  exceeded  thirty- 
one  millions,  and  our  wealth  had  increased  proportionably  fast. 
The  more  important  minerals  were  found  in  endless  abundance, 


354:  DEMOCRACY   IN   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

while  the  precious  metals  were  met  with  in  immense  quantities 
and  seem  inexhaustible.  The  surface  of  the  country  is  covered 
with  railroads  and  canals.  Cities  and  villages  have  sprung  into 
existence  almost  in  a  day.  Agriculture  spread  over  the  land  with 
the  speed  of  a  cloud.  Our  sails  whitened  every  sea  upon  the 
globe,  and  commerce  brought  profitable  returns.  Our  prosperity 
and  credit  had  no  bounds.  Every  interest  had  its  worthy  repre 
sentatives  achieving  success.  The  arts  and  sciences  nourished 
with  us  in  a  manner  unknown  elsewhere.  The  learned  profes 
sions  were  represented  by  industry,  erudition,  and  the  highest 
order  of  talent.  Our  army  and  navy  had  acquired  a  character  and 
renown  not  inferior  to  those  of  any  other  country.  Every  interest 
was  rewarded  by  an  adequate  return.  The  people  everywhere  were 
industrious,  prosperous,  and  happy.  Our  Government  was  every 
where  respected,  and  all  courtesy  paid  to  our  flag — the  Stars  and 
Stripes — and  our  institutions  looked  upon  as  models  suitable  for 
imitation.  We  claimed  that  ours  was  a  land  where  the  laws,  and 
not  individuals,  governed.  We  were  independent  and  happy. 
Travellers  from  abroad  generally  expressed  their  admiration  of  our 
simple  but  beautiful  system  of  government.  They  found  what 
Benjamin  Franklin  had  so  strikingly  illustrated  in  his  device 
for  our  old  copper  coins.  On  one  side,  thirteen  small  circles 
linked  together  with  one  in  the  middle,  with  the  words  "  We  are 
one ; "  and,  on  the  other,  the  sun  and  a  dial,  with  the  words 
"Fugit,"  and  "  Mind  your  business."  They  found  the  States  linked 
together,  forming  one  great  national  Government,  and  saw  a 
whole  land  engaged  in  "  minding  its  own  business,"  and  achiev 
ing  success  by  its  skill  and  industry.  They  saw  numerous  small 
governments  exercising  useful  and  important  functions,  beginning 
with  the  school  district,  and  ascending  to  the  town,  county,  city, 
and  State  governments,  all  complete  within  themselves,  and  look 
ing  after  all  the  interests  within  their  jurisdiction ;  and  up  to  the 
national  Government,  intended  as  a  protector  of  the  whole,  and 
their  representative  abroad,  confining  itself  to  the  few  functions 
conferred  upon  it  by  the  States  for  the  good  of  the  whole.  This 
beautiful  machinery,  if  properly  worked,  will  never  jar.  There  is 
none  on  the  globe  so  well  adapted  to  aid  man  in  working  out  his 


IS,    AND    MAY   BE.  355 

happiness.  When  our  countrymen  return  from  an  examination 
of  foreign  institutions,  they  arc  confirmed  in  their  opinions  con- 
ceining  the  perfection  of  ours,  when  honestly  and  efficiently  man 
aged.  Prior  to  1860,  our  State  governments  for  home  purposes, 
and  the  national  to  attend  to  foreign  affairs,  were  satisfactory  to 
the  people.  With  few  exceptions,  they  believed  we  had  the  best 
institutions  ever  contrived  by  man,  and  our  prosperity  and  happi 
ness  were  proof  of  this  fact.  But  the  demon  of  discord  came, 
and  things  changed  with  the  speed  of  thought. 

2.  Our  country,  once  so  prosperous  and  happy,  is  now  changed 
to  one  of  grief  and  sorrow.  To  a  great  extent,  prosperity  has 
been  blighted,  and  happiness  has  vanished.  Instead  of  the  love 
and  good-fellowship  which  once  existed,  we  have  envy,  hatred, 
ard  malice,  and  all  uncharitableness.  The  hopes  of  no  nation  were 
ever  so  suddenly  dashed  to  the  ground.  Sectional  candidates  for 
the  presidency  and  vice-presidency  were  selected  by  one  party, 
with  avowals  of  fierce  hostility  against  fifteen  of  our  sister  States 
because  of  their  domestic  institutions,  and,  owing  to  a  division  in 
the  ranks  of  the  other  party,  ending  in  running  two  sets  of  candi 
dates,  it  proved  triumphant.  Neither  Congress  nor  the  new  Ad 
ministration  did  any  thing  tending  to  heal  existing  difficulties,  but 
much  to  increase  them ;  an  unnecessary  insurrection  sprang  up 
and  drenched  the  country  in  blood.  More  than  a  million  of  men 
perished,  bringing  sorrow  and  mourning  to  almost  every  hearth 
stone  in  the  land.  Desolation  followed  the  track  of  war,  fruit 
ful  fields  were  destroyed,  and  homes  of  plenty  became  heaps  of 
ruins.  Life-long  friendships  perished,  and  brothers,  sons,  and 
fathers,  became  bitter  enemies.  Industry  was  paralyzed,  and 
thrifty  labor  ceased.  The  hatred  between  North  and  South 
equalled  that  of  ancient  times  between  Scotland  and  England. 
The  whole  South  has  become  impoverished,  and  the  North  nearly 
overwhelmed  with  debt.  Peace,  heretofore  so  magical  and  potent 
for  good,  brought  no  relief.  It  was  followed  by  a  war  of  unconstitu 
tional  laws  and  arms  on  one  side,  and  helpless  groans  and  lamen 
tations  on  the  other,  even  worse  than  those  occasioned  by  the 
war  where  both  sides  were  actors,  and  gave  blows  as  well  as  re 
ceived  them.  Violence  of  feeling  has  increased,  and  especially  at 


356  DEMOCRACY    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

the  North.  It  is  claimed  that  the  Southern  States  are  conquered 
provinces,  and  have  only  such  rights  as  the  conqueror  chooses  to 
confer — that  they  have  none  which  Northern  men  are  bound  to 
respect — that  the  Constitution  confers  no  rights  upon  the  South, 
because  they  are  out  of  the  Union  and  are  governed  by  laws 
made  outside  that  instrument.  The  good  feeling  once  existing 
between  the  North  and  South  has  perished.  The  industry  that 
once  made  the  South  bloom,  and  gave  employment  to  the  manu 
facturing  and  commercial  interests  of  the  North,  has  nearly  ceased 
to  exist,  and  enterprise  is  dead.  The  uncertainty  of  the  future 
keeps  capital  from  the  South,  and  prevents  the  revival  of  hope  in 
business  matters.  To  crown  their  difficulties,  Congress  refuses 
them  a  place  in  the  Union  until  they  will  deprive  themselves  of  their 
former  rights,  and  subject  themselves  to  a  level  with  the  negroes, 
refusing  some  even  the  privilege  of  standing  upon  a  platform  with 
them.  The  civil  courts  and  everybody  among  them  are  ruled  by 
the  bayonet,  controlled  by  Congress  and  the  Ecpublican  party. 
Congress  claims  and  exercises  the  right  to  prohibit  self-government 
at  its  pleasure,  and  to  exercise  all  power  itself  in  its  own  way. 
Crime,  if  committed  by  a  negro,  generally  goes  unpunished.  The 
people  of  Poland  and  Hungary  were  never  subjected  to  more  in 
sulting  indignities.  The  North  felt  for  these  countries,  and  for 
Greece,  but  not  a  voice  in  the  Republican  ranks  is  raised  in  be 
half  of  the  depressed  and  degraded  South,  although  her  wrongs 
and  injuries  are  known  to  all  parts  of  the  civilized  world. 
Every  European  nation  sympathizes  more  with  them  than  do 
the  politicians  who  control  Congress,  and  through  it  sustain 
the  tyranny  and  despotism  which  prevail  there  among  all  white 
men. 

Ten  States  have  been  stricken  from  the  Union,  not  to  be  re 
stored,  except  under  circumstances  indicating  their  intention  to 
aid  in  continuing  the  power  of  the  Republican  party,  through 
negro  suffrage,  and  the  exclusion  of  white  men.  Such  is  the 
condition  of  the  country  at  the  present 'time,  under  Republican 
rule.  They  are  even  denied  the  right  to  seek  redress  in  the  court 
of  last  resort  for  admitted  injuries  they  may  sustain.  The  South 
is  ruled  by  negroes,  "  wheedling  strangers,"  and  the  bayonet. 


DEAN    RICHMOND.  357 

3.  It  is  not  difficult  to  understand  what  our  country  may  be 
come,  if  its  affairs  shall  be  rightly  conducted.  We  can  be  first 
in  ship-building,  in  commerce  and  the  fisheries,  first  in  agriculture 
and  in  most  kinds  of  manufactures,  first  in  the  arts  of  peace  and 
war,  first  in  education,  and  in  the  arts  and  sciences,  and  in  what 
ever  elevates  man  to  the  highest  positions  accessible  to  him. 
When  the  war,  outside  the  Constitution,  ends,  capital  will  flow 
South  and  investments  there  become  safe,  and  prosperity  will 
follow,  with  all  the  advantages  incident  to  it,  Individually  and 
nationally,  we  shall  assume  that  position  to  which  we  are  entitled. 
Our  agriculture  will  rival  the  most  favored  in  the  world,  our  com 
merce  will  go  wherever  ships  can  sail,  our  manufactures  will  spread 
as  far  as  profits  can  be  made ;  education,  and  every  useful  art,  will 
receive  encouragement,  and  produce  the  most  beneficial  results ; 
in  a  word,  when  men  are  free  and  protected  by  the  laws  in  their 
persons  and  property,  they  will  then  work  out  their  own  hap 
piness  in  their  own  way.  But  this  is  not  permitted  to  the  seces 
sion  States ;  though  a  portion  of  the  land  of  freedom,  they  are 
rot  free,  and  are  made,  by  Congress,  a  secondary  class  where  they 
reside.  If  allowed  to  act  out  the  natural  impulses  of  the  human 
mind,  the  whole  Union  will  again  blossom  and  produce  the  fruits 
of  freedom.  Enterprise  and  prosperity  will  again  become  predom- 
inant  and  all-controlling,  and  the  United  States  will  be,  what  our 
people  and  the  nations  of  the  earth  predicted  we  should  be,  the 
greatest  and  most  prosperous  nation,  and  the  most  contented  and 
happy  people,  on  the  habitable  globe. 

131.— DEAN  KICHMOND. 

The  name  of  Dean  Richmond  is  known  in  every  cabin  in  New 
York  where  generosity,  honesty,  and  Democratic  principles  are 
cherished.  He  was  a  power  in  his  party,  and  always  ignored 
every  effort  to  confer  office  upon  him.  If  the  hand  of  power  de 
prived  a  woman  of  her  husband's-  aid  in  providing  for  the  family, 
his  check  made  her  heart  glad  and  kept  starvation  from  the  door. 
An  early  benefactor  in  a  small  way  has  been  relieved  from  the  em 
barrassments  of  after-life  with  a  check  from  an  unknown  source  for 
thousands.  The  widow  and  the  orphan  have  been  made  happy  by 


358  DEMOCRACY   IN    THE   UNITED   STATES. 

his  unsolicited  donations.  Whenever  means,  honestly  applied, 
could  promote  the  cause  of  the  Democracy,  his  liberality  was 
seldom  excelled.  He  was  wise  in  counsel  and  energetic  in  action. 
Few  so  readily  comprehended  the  consequences  of  political  action. 
His  knowledge  seemed  to  be  intuitive,  and  was  always  at  hand. 
He  could  equally  detect  the  mistakes  of  friends  as  well  as  oppo 
nents.  It  was  the  superiority  of  his  mind,  and  not  management, 
that  made  him  for  many  years  the  acknowledged  head  of  the  Dem 
ocratic  party,  and,  to  a  large  extent,  directing  its  policy.  Its 
principles  were  established  and  acknowledged  before  he  was  born. 
He  adopted  them  because,  from  their  benevolent  character,  they 
found  a  natural  resting-place  in  his  sympathiizng  heart.  His 
mind  naturally,  instinctively  rejected  those  of  an  adverse  char 
acter,  as  unsuited  to  promote  the  happiness  of  mankind.  He 
loved  people  as  a  part  of  the  human  family,  and  not  because 
they  were  born  in  any  particular  locality,  or  conformed  to  some 
expressed  opinion.  His  sympathies  were  as  expansive  as  human 
suffering,  and  he  relieved  most  liberally. 

He  acquired  a  perfect  knowledge  of  business,  not  by  the  slow 
process  of  practical  experience,  but  by  accurate  observation,  and 
precision  of  reflection.  He  mastered  in  an  hour  what  it  took 
many  others  years  to  comprehend.  Such  was  the  confidence  of 
his  associates  in  the  New  York  Central  Railroad,  of  which  he  was 
a  long  time  vice-president,  and  then  president  until  his  death, 
that  no  enterprise  of  importance  Was  undertaken  without  his  ap 
probation  and  advice.  He  was  the  master-spirit  of  the  commer 
cial  enterprises  upon  the  upper  lakes.  The  soundness  and  accu 
racy  of  his  judgment  were  proved  by  the  unquestioned  results 
exhibited  in  his  exceedingly  large  income. 

His  ideas  of  business  were  not  confined  to  mere  localities,  or 
building  up  sectional  interests.  He  was  for  opening  the  broadest 
pathways,  including  the  largest  possible  number  of  interests. 
He  looked  to  business,  not  merely  as  the  cause  of  accumula 
tion,  but  as  the  means  of  accomplishing  general  good.  While 
some  feel  proud  of  performing  a  "  keen  trick  "  in  business,  he  was 
above  and  despised  all  such  things.  His  judgment  was  largely 
relied  upon  by  those  who  had  the  means  of  profiting  by  it.  He 


DEAN    RICHMOND.  359 

had  his  fixed  views  upon  most  subjects,  and  adhered  to  them,  be 
cause  his  judgment  told  him  he  was  right.  Whenever  he  entered 
a  society,  corporation,  or  other  association,  he  soon  became  the 
master-spirit,  not  because  he  sought  to  become  such,  but  because 
he  was  master  of  the  subject,  and  presented  his  views  in  such 
clear  and  terse  language,  that  his  associates  seldom  failed  to  be 
convinced.  He  did  not  make  himself  a  leader  of  others,  but  they 
made  him  their  leader.  He  did  not  command  the  unwilling,  but 
took  the  lead  where  others  demanded  his  guidance. 

Although  Mr.  Richmond  enjoyed  the  unlimited  confidence  of 
the  Democracy,  aud  exercised  a  greater  influence  in  the  party 
than  any  other  man  in  it,  still  he  never  consented  to  hold  any 
public  office  whatever.  Office-holding  could  not  have  added  to 
his  elevated  position  in  the  public  mind  any  more  than  it  could  to 
tli  at  of  Mr.  George  Peabody.  He  participated  in  public  affairs 
because  they  were  public  affairs,  which  every  citizen  ought  to  un 
derstand,  and  he  performed  only  his  public  duty  in  attending  to 
them.  He  was  unwilling  to  become  an  agent  of  others,  when  he 
only  found  time  to  give  directions  as  a  principal.  His  private 
business  had  more  charms  for  him  than  that  of  a  public  character, 
where  routine  is  the  leading  feature,  leaving  his  great  intellectual 
faculties  unemployed.  He  looked  upon  it  as  a  clear  duty  to  at 
tend  to  his  private  business.  He  wished  to  see  active  business 
men  look  to  public  business  as  one  of  the  first  and  proudest 
duties  of  a  citizen,  but  not  as  an  affair  of  personal  interest.  Al 
though  his  early  education  was  limited,  there  were  few,  if  any, 
executive  positions  under  our  Government  which  he  could  not  have 
filled  with  credit  to  himself  and  country.  He  was  a  man  of  large 
frame  and  massive  brain.  His  features  resembled  the  portraits  of 
Cromwell,  to  whom  it  is  said  his  lineage  might  be  traced.  He 
possessed  quaint  wit  and  humor,  and  agreeable  manners.  He 
was  quick  and  happy  in  his  replies  to  those  assailing  him.  Few 
over  wished  to  repeat  an  assault. 

In  his  family  circle  he  was  a  model  husband  and  father.  All 
the  duties  of  both  relations  he  performed  in  the  manner  calculat 
ed  to  produce  the  greatest  happiness. 

The  example  of  such  a  man  as  Dean  Richmond  is  of  infinite 


360  DEMOCRACY    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

value  to  our  people,  and  especially  to  tlie  young.  It  teaches  them 
the  true  duties  of  an  American  citizen.  From  it  they  will  learn 
why  men  should  look  after  our  political  and  public  affairs,  and 
why  they  should  extend  their  other  thoughts  and  apply  all  their 
energies  to  their  private  business.  Public  affairs  should  be 
thoroughly  understood,  and  so  directed,  as  to  lead  to  the  happi 
ness  of  mankind,  while  those  of  a  private  character  should  demand 
all  care  and  attention  in  order  to  promote  the  welfare  of  himself, 
of  his  family,  and  those  naturally  dependent  upon  him,  and  at  the 
same  time  contribute,  as  far  as  practicable,  to  the  aggregate  ^of 
wealth  of  the  State,  which  gives  character  and  consideration  to  our 
nation.  In  time  of  war,  if  there  were  no  accumulations  of  wealth 
beyond  that  acquired  honestly  in  office-holding,  what  would  be 
come  of  the  Government  ?  It  is  the  fruits  of  business  on  the  one 
hand,  and  strong  hands  and  resolute  hearts  on  the  other,  that 
save  us. 

Dean  Richmond  was  born  March  31,  1804,  at  Barnard, 
Vermont,  and  was  the  youngest  son  of  Hatheway  Richmond  and 
Rachel  Dean,  both  natives  of  Massachusetts.  He  came  with  the 
family  to  Salina,  New  York,  to  reside  at  the  age  of  twelve,  and 
remained  there  until  1843,  when  he  removed  to  Buffalo,  where  he 
continued  in  business  until  his  death.  Subsequently  he  made 
Batavia  his  residence.  He  was  taken  ill  when  returning  from  the 
Philadelphia  Convention  in  1866,  and  died  in  the  city  of  New 
York  on  the  27th  day  of  August,  in  the  sixty-third  year  of  his  age. 

132.— NEGRO  WAR-SERVICES  AND   NEGRO  LOYALTY. 

On  no  subject  has  the  public  mind  been  more  imposed  upon 
than  negro  war-services  and  negro  loyalty.  It  has  been  assumed, 
and  Congress  acts  upon  the  assumption,  that  all  the  able-bodied 
negroes  in  the  South  were  volunteers  in  the  army,  and  that  every 
negro  was  loyal.  No  evidence  has  yet  been  adduced  to  prove 
the  truth  of  either  position.  The  testimony  is  abundant  that  the 
Southern  negroes  heartily  espoused  the  cause  of  their  masters,  and 
rendered  them  all  the  assistance  they  could  in  a  hundred  ways, 
though  not  enlisted  in  the  ranks  of  the  army.  In  digging  and 
intrenching,  constructing  breastworks,  moving  and  caring  for  army 


NEGRO   WAR-SERVICES,    ETC.  361 

s:orcs,  in  nursing,  and  in  playing  the  spy,  the  negro  rendered  the 
secessionists  important  services.  These  were  readily  and  cheer 
fully  performed,  they  often  manifesting  great  pride  in  them. 
These  things  were  continued  after  Mr.  Lincoln's  proclamation 
clown  to  the  end  of  the  war,  to  a  greater  or  less  extent.  The 
Southern  negroes  joined  with  their  masters  in  hostile  feelings 
toward  the  Yankees,  whom  they  looked  upon  as  meddlesome 
sharpers,  whose  manufactures  and  inventions  were  not  found  in 
practice  to  be  as  good  as  described. 

During  the  war  but  a  small  portion  of  the  Southern  territory 
•was  in  the  actual  possession  of  our  army,  and  the  negroes  at  any 
considerable  distance  from  our  lines  did  not  leave  their  old  homes 
to  join  us  until  after  the  rebellion  had  been   substantially  sup 
pressed.     Near  the  close  of  the  war,  when  floating  men  from  the 
North  dared  venture  in  the  South,  and  the  negroes  made  by  them 
to  believe  that  in  all  things — social  and  political — they  would 
be  placed  on  a  par  with  or  above  the  whites,  then   they  com 
menced  leaving  home  and  feeding  upon  Government  stores.     If 
the  number  in  our  service  depended  upon  the  food  they  consumed, 
then  it  would  appear  very  large.    But  this  is  not  so.   The  number 
of  fighting  men  in  our  ranks  was  small,  and  of  these,  the  desert 
ers'  list  was  great.     They  could  seldom  be  depended  upon,  except 
at  ration-time.     This  is  not  strange.     They  had  not  been  brought 
up  to  handle  fire-arms  or  encounter  them,  while  their  vanity  was 
so  inflamed  by  political  partisans  that  it  was  difficult  to  maintain 
subordination  among,  or  keep  them  under  reasonable   control. 
Their  pretended  great  services  were  heralded  for  political  effect.  But 
these  were  in  fact  rendered  mainly  by  the  free  negroes  of  the  North. 
When  others  came  to  us  they  were  by  far  the  most  useless  and 
most  expensive  troops  in  our  service.     They  could  not  be  relied 
upon.  Since  the  war  they  have  proved  more  dangerous  to  unarmed 
people  than  they  were  to  the  enemy  during  the  war.      They  are 
now  actually  worse  than  useless,  although  Republican  politicians 
puff  them  without  limit.     They  take  it  for  granted,  and  Congress 
acts  upon  the  same  assumption,  that  the  fact  of  being  a  negro  is 
conclusive  evidence  of  loyalty.     This  theory  has  been  acted  upon 
in  all  the  reconstruction  proceedings  in  the  South.     The  truth  is, 
16 


362  DEMOCRACY    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

the  mass  of  these  negroes  are  too  ignorant  and  stupid  to  know 
the  meaning  of  the  term  "  loyalty."  They  will  follow  what  they 
are  made  to  believe  is  for  their  interest,  whether  loyal  or  disloyal. 
They  are  led  by  the  worst  advisers  our  country  can  produce,  and 
easily  made  to  believe  what  these  men  desire  they  should.  But 
whoever  pretends  that  the  negroes  did  much  fighting  during  the 
war,  are  now  harmless  among  the  people  with  arms  in  their 
hands,  or  are  more  loyal  than  others  in  the  South,  will,  when  he 
learns  the  real  facts,  find  his  mistake. 

133.— PRESIDENT  JOHNSON  AND  EDWIN  M.  ST ANTON. 

"When  Mr.  Johnson  became  President,  one  of  his  most  unwise 
acts  was  retaining  Mr.  Lincoln's  Cabinet,  not  one  of  whom  was 
his  political  friend,  or  a  Democrat.  They  did  not  feel  that  they 
were  indebted  to  him  for  the  positions  which  they  held.  There 
was  no  link  of  friendship  between  them.  He  was  looked  upon  as 
an  accidental  intruder ;  and  some  of  them  claimed  to  be  his  superior 
in  wisdom,  sagacity,  and  executive  experience  in  national  affairs. 
Among  those  who  felt  no  personal  respect  for  him  was  Edwin  M. 
Stanton,  Secretary  of  War.  It  was  known  that  Mr.  Lincoln  often 
admitted  that  his  acts  were  indefensible,  and  contrary  to  law  and 
sound  policy ;  but  said  he  must  retain  him,  because  he  could 
not  do  without  him  on  some  special  occasions,  where  he  would 
do  what  no  other  man  would  consent  to  do.  However  he  might 
appear,  when  present  with  him,  the  outside  world  soon  came  to 
the  conclusion  that  Mr.  Stanton  did  not  respect  or  fear  him, 
but  felt  free  to  say  an'd  do  what  he  pleased  in  spite  of  him.  He 
frequently  dishonored  his  name  by  violating  his  orders.  The 
War  Department  was  administered  in  the  interest  of  the  Repub 
lican  party,  and  not  to  promote  that  of  the  country.  He  had 
formerly  so  managed  it  as  to  reelect  a  Governor  in  Pennsylvania, 
and  Mr.  Lincoln  to  the  presidency.  It  became  apparent  that  he 
intended  to  make  like  use  of  the  department  at  the  coining  elec 
tion.  Although,  to  Mr.  Johnson,  he  kept  up  a  show  of  objection 
to  the  Tenure-of-Officc  Bill,  it  is  the  common  belief  that  he  was 
in  league  with  the  conspirators  in  Congress  to  secure  its  becom 
ing  a  law  over  Mr.  Johnson's  veto.  When  that  bill  was  enrolled 


JOHNSON  AND  STANTON.  363 

among  the  laws,  he  began  to  throw  off  restraint,  and  act  in  a 
manner  deemed  disrespectful.  It  also  became  known  that  he 
had  failed  to  bring  to  the  notice  of  Mr.  Johnson  a  dispatch 
addressed  to  him,  which,  if  he  had  done  so,  would  have  enabled 
him  to  give  instructions  that  would  have  prevented  the  New 
C'rleans  riots.  In  view  of  these  and  other  things,  Mr.  Johnson 
suspended  him  from  office — reporting  the  suspension,  and  the 
reasons  for  it,  to  the  Senate.  He  placed  General  Grant  in  charge 
of  the  department  as  acting  Secretary.  It  was  arranged  with  the 
Litter,  that  if  he  was  not  willing  to  retain  the  office  so  as  to  allow 
the  courts  to  determine  Mr.  Stanton's  right  to  return,  Grant  should 
vacate  in  season  to  enable  Mr.  Johnson  to  appoint  some  one  who 
would.  Grant  fixed  upon  the  time  of  calling  to  inform  Mr.  John 
son  what  course  he  had  determined  to  take.  But  he  failed  to  fulfil 
this  promise,  although  he  had  advised  that  the  proper  course  was 
to  go  to  the  courts  to  have  the  question  of  the  validity  of  the 
rCenure-of-Office  Bill  settled  by  the  judiciary.  In  excusing  him 
self  for  not  conforming  to  the  direction  and  his  promise  to  the 
President,  he  foolishly  entangled  himself  in  inexcusable  falsehoods. 
It  has  now  become  quite  apparent  that,  from  the  beginning,  he 
has  been  acting  under  the  direction  of  Mr.  Stanton,  and  in  aid  of 
his  purposes,  and  that  he  has  been  made  the  tool  of  Congress  to 
aid  in  their  schemes.  The  Senate  did  not  concur  in  Mr.  Stanton's 
suspension.  With  an  utter  disregard  of  the  interests  of  the  army 
and  the  country,  the  Senate  seek  to  force  him  upon  the  Presi 
dent  as  a  member  of  the  Cabinet,  with  whom  he  holds  no  inter 
course,  and  with  whom  he  is  not  even  on  speaking  terms.  It  is 
the  first  time  in  the  world  that  a  legislature  has  attempted  to 
force  a  spy  upon  a  chief  magistrate  as  a  counsellor.  Of  course 
insubordination  reigns  through  the  whole  army,  beginning  with 
General  Grant  and  the  Secretary,  and  extending  to  the  lowest  subor 
dinates.  The  question  naturally  arises,  What  is  the  object  of  Mr. 
Stanton  in  clinging  to  the  War  Department?  He  said,  when 
asked  to  resign,  that  considerations  of  public  policy  required  him 
not  to  comply.  This  was  simply  egotistical  impudence— too 
absurd  even  to  be  ridiculous.  All  know  it  to  be  true  that  there 
are  manv  other  men  who  are  as  honest,  talented,  and  capable  of 


364:  DEMOCEACY   IN   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

managing  the  affairs  of  the  department,  and  as  competent  to 
advise  the  President  in  council  as  Mr.  Stanton.  If  so,  then  it 
must  be  true  that  some  other  considerations  induced  his  action. 
It  is  not  true  that  the  public  good  can  be  promoted  by  his  re 
maining  a  member  of  a  Cabinet  which  he  never  attends,  simply 
because  he  is  not  wanted.  Nor  does  he  advise  with  the  Presi 
dent  or  his  colleagues,  they  having  no  respect  for  his  opinions  or 
purposes.  He  has  never  attempted  to  explain  how  the  public 
service  can  be  promoted  by  his  struggle  to  hold  office ;  nor  what 
his  political  friends  intended  to  have  him  do  by  remaining. 
Every  public  consideration  is  in  favor  of  his  quitting  an  office 
where  he  is  on  ill-terms  with  the  chief  under  whom  he  serves,  and 
with  those  about  him,  in  consequence  of  which  he  acts  without 
authority  and  advice.  The  circumstances  warrant  the  belief  that 
he  has  acted  in  concert  with  those  in  Congress  who  wish  to  thwart 
President  Johnson  in  every  way  possible,  in  order  to  deprive  him 
of  his  just  powers  and  influence.  They  desire  to  force  him  to 
retain  those  Republicans  in  office  who  most  fiercely  denounce  him. 
They  insist  that  he  shall  appoint  from  the  same  class.  They  are 
also  deeply  solicitous  to  retain  in  office  one  who  will  deal  kindly 
with  their  friends  who  wish  to  put  their  hands  into  the  Treasury, 
but  are  more  anxious  to  secure  the  power  and  influence  of  the 
department  at  the  next  fall  election.  We  have  no  doubt  of  the 
existence  of  these  purposes  and  wishes.  If  personally  popular,  it 
might  be  expected  that  Mr.  Stanton  was  looking  to  a  nomination 
for  the  presidency.  But  so  bitter  and  intense  is  the  feeling 
against  him,  even  by  many  Republicans,  that  no  one  will  imagine 
that  he  could  be  elected.  Few  civilians,  and  fewer  still  of  the 
army,  speak  even  respectfully  of  him.  It  therefore  seems  certain 
that  he  is  playing  a  part  for  the  benefit  of  those  resorting  to  every 
possible  means  to  retain  the  political  power  of  the  country  in  the 
hands  of  the  Republican  party. 

Since  writing  the  above,  Mr.  Johnson  has  consulted  the  true 
interests  of  the  country,  and  vindicated  his  own  constitutional 
rights,  by  doing  what  he  ought  to  have  done  years  ago,  in  remov 
ing  Mr.  Stanton  from  office.  He  directed  the  Adjutant-General, 
Lorenzo  Thomas,  to  take  charge  of  the  department.  But  Sen- 


JOHNSON  AND  STANTON.  365 

ators  and  members  of  Congress  rushed  to  the  department  and 
advised  him  to  hold  on  and  not  yield  up  the  office,  and  he  has 
refused  to  do  so,  staying  there  night  and  day,  eating  and  sleep 
ing  in  the  department.  He  made  a  criminal  complaint  and  had 
General  Thomas  arrested  for  accepting  the  appointment  of  acting 
Secretary,  although  he  took  no  proceedings  against  General  Grant, 
who  acted  under  such  an  appointment  for  months.  This  inter 
ference  of  members  of  both  Houses  of  Congress  proves  that  Stan- 
ton  was  acting  in  concert  with  them.  The  President  had  an  un 
doubted  right  to  remove  without  the  consent  of  the  Senate — 
every  President  has  exercised  that  right,  and  no  one  to  so  great 
an  extent  as  Mr.  Lincoln,  whose  nominations  to  fill  the  places  of 
removed  officials  the  Senate  has  confirmed  by  thousands.  These 
removals  were,  to  a  great  extent,  made  on  the  request  of  Senators 
and  members.  Probably  there  is  not  one  Rebublican  in  either 
end  of  the  capitol  who  has  not  made  requests  of  this  character. 

Mr.  Stanton  is  upheld  in  his  struggle  to  remain  in  office  by 
the  whole  Republican  party.  The  Senators  who  declared  it  would 
be  disgraceful  to  hold  on,  when  the  President  desired  a  member 
of  his  Cabinet  to  quit,  now  approve  the  course  which  he  pursues. 
Senators,  who  are  now  in  session  and  trying  the  President  for  this 
removal,  have  been  to  the  department  and  encouraged  him  to 
''stick"  to  an  office,  the  duties  of  which  he  cannot  half  perform 
without  consulting  the  President.  Instead  of  the  conspiracy 
which  they  charge  against  the  President  being  true,  it  is  now  per 
fectly  apparent  that  both  Houses  of  Congress  have  conspired  with 
Stanton  to  continue  him  in  office  against  the  Constitution  and 
laws,  and  also  against  the  best  interests  of  the  country.  Mr. 
Stanton  is  wasting  millions  upon  millions  of  public  money,  mostly 
in  aid  of  the  schemes  of  the  Republican  party  to  perpetuate  its 
power,  and  control  the  business  and  politics  of  the  country. 

No  man  in  this  or  any  other  country  has  pursued  so  reckless 
u  course  to  continue  in  office,  or  has  more  abused  his  official 
power.  No  man  has  ever  so  perfectly  blended  tyranny  and  cow 
ardice.  He  tyrannizes  wherever  he  dares  do  so,  and  shows  that 
he  is  personally  afraid  of  shadows.  He  dare  not  walk  abroad  like 
a  just  man,  but  is  hemmed  around  with  bayonets,  which  no  man 


366  DEMOCEACY   IN    THE    UNITED   STATES. 

honestly  performing  his  duties  ever  needed.  He  is  the  head  and 
front  of  the  spy  system  which  pervades  our  country  at  an  enor 
mous  expense,  not  authorized  by  the  Constitution  and  laws,  nor 
required  by  any  interest  or  the  good  sense  of  the  people.  He 
and  General  Grant  are  linked  together  with  hooks  of  steel,  and  en 
gaged  in  the  same  raid  upon  the  people's  rights  and  the  Treasury, 
as  our  public  accounts  will  show.  They  are  both  the  tools  of  the 
Republican  party  and  used  for  the  same  purposes,  and  acted  in 
quiet  and  perfect  harmony  when  the  latter  was  performing  the 
duties  of  Secretary  of  War  ad  interim. 

134.— SLANDER  AS  POLITICAL   CAPITAL. 

Slander  has  formed  a  portion  of  the  political  capital  of  the 
enemies  of  the  Democracy  in  all  past  time.  It  was  resorted  to 
for  the  purpose  of  driving  Washington  from  the  head  of  the  army, 
and  to  keep  Jefferson  from  being  elected  and  reflected  President, 
and  Madison  from  becoming  his  successor.  The  direct  slanders 
upon  Jefferson  and  Madison  would  fill  several  large  volumes.  In 
time,  so  many  of  these  had  been  proved  to  be  false,  that  people 
began  to  doubt  and  then  to  disbelieve  what  was  put  forth  against 
the  Democracy.  It  was  not  enough  to  slander  General  Jackson, 
but  his  revilers  assailed  his  wife  long  after  she  was  in  her  grave. 
Neither  Mr.  Van  Buren  nor  Mr.  Polk  escaped  the  shafts  of  his 
political  enemies.  Nor  did  Mr.  Pierce  escape.  It  was  left  for 
Mr,  Buchanan  to  receive  more  than  a  double  share.  New  terms 
of  slander  were  invented  and  applied.  He  was  called  "  copper 
head,"  rebel,  traitor,  secessionist,  and  disloyal.  How  far  these 
epithets  were  believed  by  those  using  them  is  shown  by  the  action 
of  the  Legislature  of  Massachusetts  about  the  time  of  his  going 
out  of  office  as  President,  when  they  unanimously  declared  that 
they  regarded  with  un mingled  satisfaction  the  determination 
evinced  in  his  then  recent  special  message  to  amply  and  faithfully 
discharge  his  constitutional  duty  of  enforcing  the  laws  arid  pre 
serving  the  integrity  of  the  Union.  Nothing  could  be  more  ex 
plicit  or  true. 

When  the  war  commenced,  the  system  of  slander  became 
enlarged  and  intensified,  an-d  reached  not  only  leading  Democratic 


SLANDEE    AS    POLITICAL    CATITAL.  367 

politicians,  but  the  whole  party  as  a  body  and  all  its  members  in 
detail.  The  Republicans  erected  a  standard  of  comparison,  com 
posed  exclusively  of  themselves,  and  required  all  mankind  to  con 
form  to  it,  or  be  consigned  to  the  ranks  of  "  traitors,"  "  rebels," 
r.nd  "  disloyalists,"  u  having  no  rights  that  Republicans  were  bound 
to  respect."  For  the  first  time  a  political  Administration  was 
treated  as  the  Government  and  the  people  were  ignored ;  every  one 
who  did  not  approve  of  the  acts  of  the  Administration  was  de 
nounced  as  disloyal  and  an  enemy  to  the  Union.  Entering  the 
army,  fighting  and  losing  limbs,  or  even  life,  could  not  remove 
jhe  stain  of  disloyalty  for  questioning  the  wisdom,  honesty,  and 
prudence  of  the  President,  his  advisers,  and  Congress.  The  Re 
publicans  assumed  to  sit  in  judgment  upon  every  man  they  knew 
or  heard  of,  and  fixed  his  status  before  the  world.  He  must  not 
only  agree  with  the  Administration  and  Congress,  but  he  must 
conform  to  the  changes  which  almost  daily  occurred  in  their 
standard  of  faith  and  action.  Even  the  insignificancy  of  a  man 
did  not  insure  him  against  a  military  prison.  Spies  were  dogging 
the  heels  of  every  man.  Sufficient  "  black-mail "  made  the  con 
tributor  loyal,  and  the  want  of  it  usually  sent  him  to  prison  as 
disloyal,  a  rebel,  or  a  traitor. 

No  fidelity  or  vigilance  could  supply  the  place  of  the  subser 
viency  demanded.  It  was  assumed  that  no  Democrat  performed 
his  duty  to  the  country  or  gave  efficient  aid  in  the  war,  and  that 
whatever  was  actually  done  was  by  Republicans.  If  a  riot  oc 
curred  it  was  charged  as  the  work  of  the  Democrats,  and  that 
Democratic  officials  did  not  perform  their  duty  in  suppressing  it. 
It  was  charged  against  Governor  Seymour  that  he  had  been  dila 
tory  in  sending  New  York  troops  to  the  field.  But  the  records 
of  the  times  show  that  he  sent  troops  to  Washington  before  any 
Republican  State.  His  men  were  the  first  there.  He  complied 
with  every  requisition  upon  New  York  for  men  more  promptly 
than  any  Republican  State  in  the  Union.  He  was  never  behind 
an  hour.  It  was  a  deep  mortification  to  the  War  Department 
that  he  ferreted  out  its  wrong  decisions,  and  especially  in  making 
distribution  under  different  calls,  and  requiring  at  its  hands  suit 
able  corrections.  When  the  riot  occurred  in  New  York,  it  was 


368  DEMOCEACY   IN    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

charged  that,  instead  of  performing  his  duty  in  suppressing  it,  lie 
secretly  encouraged  it.  This  imputation,  although  denied  and 
even  disproved,  was  reiterated  until  after  the  election  in  1864. 

Now,  when  all  motive  for  further  perseverance  in  this  slander 
has  ceased,  it  is  nearly  universally  conceded  that  he  not  only  per 
formed  his  whole  duty,  but  did  so  with  untiring  zeal  and  unwaver 
ing  perseverance,  and  with  the  most  perfect  success.  In  the  con 
vention  at  Albany,  Mr.  Opdyke,  who  was  then  mayor  of  the  city 
of  New  York,  publicly  refuted  the  accusations  that  had  been  falsely 
made  against  Governor  Seymour,  and  paid  a  warm  tribute  both 
to  his  motives  and  actions,  showing  them  to  be  of  the  highest  and 
most  worthy  character. 

But  slanders  of  another  character  were  invented  and  applied 
to  him,  although  equally  destitute  of  all  foundation.  Under  the 
law  of  New  York,  authorizing  soldiers  in  actual  service  to  vote  at 
the  election  in  the  fall  of  1864,  it  was  charged  that  he  had  been 
engaged  in  obtaining  fraudulent  soldier-votes.  The  trial  of  Colonel 
North  and  others  disproved  this  charge.  It  was  then  also  proved 
that  Governor  Seymour  proposed  in  writing  to  Depew,  the  Re 
publican  Secretary  of  State,  to  arrange  agencies,  consisting  of  one 
Democrat  and  one  Republican,  to  visit  the  army  together  and  re 
ceive  the  soldiers'  votes  in  a  public  manner,  so  as.  to  avoid  all  pos 
sibility  of  fraud,  and  that  no  notice  was  taken  of  Governor  Sey 
mour's  letters.  The  inference  that  the  Republicans  preferred  sepa 
rate  secret  action,  to  aid  in  obtaining  fraudulent  votes,  is  clearly  to 
be  drawn  from  the  recorded  evidence  on  file  in  the  War  Depart 
ment.  The  facilities  for  accomplishing  such  purposes  were  in  pro 
portion  to  the  number  of  Republican  commissioned  officers.  Al 
though  it  is  well  known  that  two-thirds  of  the  rank  and  file  of 
the  army  were  Democrats,  the  Republicans  held  three-fourths  of 
all  the  commissions.  In  this  lay  the  power  of  that  party  to  con 
trol  what  should  be  returned  as  the  soldier-vote.  Governor  Sey 
mour's  action  on  this  occasion  was  honorable  and  just,  and  above 
suspicion.  Not  so  of  his  adversaries. 

In  the  approaching  campaign  a  large  political  capital  of  slander 
will  be  used  by  the  Republicans.  No  purity,  capacity,  or  noble 
ness  of  character  on  the  part  of  Democratic  candidates  can  shield 


WIIAT    HAS    THE    COUNTRY    GAINED,    ETC.  3G9 

them  from  the  usual  assaults  and  denunciations.  Every  vile  epi 
thet  in  the  old  vocabulary  of  abuse,  as  well  as  those  newly  in 
vented,  will  be  applied  to  them.  The  whole  Republican  press, 
and  the  army  of  Republican  orators,  Avill  use  the  like  epithets  in 
every  section  of  the  Union.  The  old  song  will  be  sung  to  the 
same  tune,  lauding  Republicans  to  the  skies,  and  in  denouncing 
•she  Democratic  candidates  as  only  fit  for  everlasting  perdition. 
We  have  only  to  turn  back  to  the  precedents  to  find  the  whole 
already  in  print,  and  the  answers  and  refutations  fully  recorded. 
Without  a  new  special  varnish,  these  Republican  slanders  will 
never  be  believed,  not  even  by  those  who  feel  bound,  as  a  sort  of 
duty  imposed  upon  them  by  the  leaders,  to  repeat  them.  We 
neither  ask  their  silence  nor  solicit  their  commendation,  both  of 
which  would  be  the  subjects  of  suspicion.  By  nature  they  are 
enemies  of  democratic  principles,  and  distrust  those  who  best 
represent  them.  As  a  matter  of  policy  it  is  best  for  the  Democ 
racy  that  they  should  continue  to  act  out  their  natural  instincts. 
Being  warned  and  put  upon  their  guard,  the  Democrats  protect 
themselves  from  all  such  assailants. 

135.— WIIAT  HAS  THE  COUNTRY  GAINED  BY  REPUBLICAN  RULE? 

Such  a  question  hardly  need  be  asked,  but  there  may  be  some 
profit  in  briefly  answering  it.  In  1856  and  1860  we  were  told 
that  the  administrations  of  Pierce  and  Buchanan  had  been  worse 
than  failures — that  they  had  been  absolutely  injurious  to  the  peace, 
welfare,  and  interests  of  the  country.  The  Kansas  difficulties  were 
pointed  to  as  evidence  establishing  these  assertions.  If  they  had 
caused  these  difficulties,  these  charges  would  have  been  supported. 
But  they  were  caused  not  by  the  Administration  of  Mr.  Pierce  nor 
of  Mr.  Buchanan,  but  by  the  abolitionists  and  Republicans,  in  spite 
of  these  gentlemen  and  the  exertions  of  the  Democratic  party. 
They  resorted  to  every  possible  means  to  increase  and  intensify 
these  difficulties  for  political  effect.  But  these  were  trifling  com 
pared  with  those  brought  upon  the  country  by  the  same  partisans 
under  Mr.  Lincoln.  What  did  the  Republican  party  do  or  pro 
pose  in  Congress  to  avert  rebellion  and  civil  war  ?  What  did  Mr. 
Lincoln  do  or  suggest  to  avoid  these  calamities  ?  Nothing.  He 


370  DEMOCRACY    IN   THE    UNITED    STATES. 

neither  did  nor  proposed  to  do  one  single  thing  to  prevent  or  avert 
either.  Congress  spent  a  whole  session  without  taking  one  step 
toward  avoiding  insurrection  or  war,  and  Mr.  Lincoln  made  no 
recommendation  in  his  inaugural  address,  although  secession  had 
swept  away  several  States  before  it  was  delivered,  and  the  tem 
porary  secession  Confederacy  had  been  formed.  If  Mr.  Pierce 
and  Mr.  Buchanan  are  in  any  way  the  least  responsible  for  the 
Kansas  controversy,  then  Mr.  Lincoln  and  the  Republican  party 
are  far  more  responsible  for  the  civil  war  in  the  South.  But  the 
Kansas  war  was  a  struggle  for  control,  by  resort  to  the  ballot-box, 
over  which  no  President  could  exercise  any  control.  Neither 
Mr.  Pierce  nor  Mr.  Buchanan  made  the  laws,  nor  could  they  con 
trol  the  voting  or  frauds  charged  in  that  respect.  They  were  both 
non-interventionists.  But  the  Republicans  in  Congress,  before  Mr. 
Lincoln  was  sworn  in,  could  have  passed  appropriate  laws,  or  at 
all  events  could  have  proposed  them.  But  they  did  nothing,  al 
though  called  upon  by  Mr.  Buchanan  to  act.  Neither  in  his 
travelling  speeches  coming  to  the  capital,  nor  in  his  inaugural  ad 
dress,  or  otherwise,  did  Mr.  Lincoln  do  or  say  one  thing  to  avert 
civil  war.  Instead  of  doing  so,  he  drew  about  him  the  very  men 
whose  advice  and  acts  were  calculated  to  precipitate  it — to  render 
it  inevitable.  He  put  forth  and  adhered  to  a  policy  which  all 
knew  must  plunge  the  country  into  a  long  and  bloody  war.  This 
came  upon  us  and  lasted  four  years,  when  all  fighting  by  contend 
ing  armies  ceased,  and  the  war  in  fact  ended.  But  the  Republi 
can  party  were  not  satisfied  with  the  return  of  peace  and  the  res 
toration  of  the  Union.  They  wanted  something  more.  It  was 
feared  that,  if  these  States  resumed  their  former  relations  in  the 
Union,  they  might  range  themselves  with  the  Democracy,  and 
thereby  render  the  defeat  of  the  Republicans  entirely  certain. 
The  policy  of  worrying,  annoying,  and  irritating  them  was  adopt 
ed.  Instead  of  treating  them  as  erring,  repentant,  and  returning 
sisters,  they  were  spurned  and  told  they  were  conquered  prov 
inces  ;  and  instead  of  restoration,  reconstruction  through  the  negro 
vote  was  resorted  to,  and  they  are  still  kept  out.  Ten  whole  States 
at  the  South  are  this  day  in  a  far  worse  condition  than  Kansas 
ever  was,  and  no  steps  calculated  to  relieve  them  are  taken.  Are 


WHAT    HAS   THE   COUNTRY   GAINED,    ETC.  371 

the  Southern  States  better  off  for  Republican  rule?  Has  that  party 
done  any  thing  beneficial  to  the  North  or  West  ?  Our  grinding 
taxes  and  the  sad  demoralization  of  the  country  are  the  direct 
rasult  of  their  coming  into  power.  Have  morals  and  religion  im 
proved,  or  are  the  laws  better  respected  and  obeyed  ?  The  reverse 
is  true.  Few  will  insist  that  our  enormous  public  debt  is  a  bless 
ing.  No  one  will  pretend  that  our  currency,  which  neither  our 
public  ministers  abroad,  nor  our  people  when  visiting  other  parts 
of  the  world  can  use,  nor  our  Government  at  the  custom-houses, 
will  take,  is  an  improvement  upon  the  Jackson  gold  currency.  No 
one  will  rejoice  over  the  death  of  our  brave  volunteers.  Then  it 
is  inevitably  true  that  in  no  way  has  the  country  been  benefited 
by  the  Republicans  coming  into  power.  In  no  respect  are  our  peo 
ple  as  contented  and  happy  as  before  Mr.  Lincoln  came  into  office. 
As  far  as  that  party  can  do  it,  democratic  principles  have  been  ig 
nored,  blotted  out ;  and  to  entertain  and  practise  them  is  ren 
dered  criminal  in  a  portion  of  the  Union.  When  Mr.  Lincoln 
became  President,  we  had  thirty-three  States  (three  more  have 
been  added  since) — but  ten  have  been  repudiated,  driven  out,  and 
cease  to  be  counted.  Republican  rule  has  lost  these  ten  States  to 
the  Union.  Is  that  a  blessing  ?  Ten  stars  have  dropped  from  our 
flag  as  the  fruit  of  Republican  ascendency.  But  this  is  not  all. 
Senator  Hendricks,  of  Indiana,  thus  pithily  enumerates  other 
wrongs  brought  upon  the  country  by  this  party  : 

"  1.  You  have  made  ten  States  subject  to  military  authority. 

2.  You  have  made  the   civil  tribunals  subject  to  military  rule. 

3.  The  lives,  liberty,  and  persons  of  the  people  are   subject  to 
military  authority.     4.  Juries  are   abolished.     5.  Habeas  corpus 
is  abolished ;  I  mean,  of  course,  at  the  pleasure  of  the  military 
commanders.     6.  You  have  clothed  conventions  with  authority 
to  fix  their  own  salaries  and  levy  taxes  from  the  people  for  their 
payment.     7.  You  have  empowered  the  commanders  to  displace 
Governors,  judges,  and  legislators,  and  fill  their  places,  thus  mak 
ing  them   dependent  on  the  will  of  the  commanders.     What  a 
spectacle  we  behold,  sir !     The  judge  taken  from  the  bench,  and 
the  lieutenant  placed  in  his  stead !     Legislators  driven  out,  and 
others  appointed  by  the  military  to  make  the  laws  which  the  peo- 


372  DEMOCRACY    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

pie  must  obey  !  Sir,  what  were  the  causes  of  complaint  which 
the  colonies  made  against  the  British  crown  ?  Speaking  of  the 
King  of  Great  Britain,  our  fathers  declared : 

'He  has  made  judges  dependent  on  his  will  alone  for  the 
tenure  of  their  offices  and  the  amount  and  payment  of  their 
salaries. 

1  He  has  kept  among  us  in  times  of  peace  standing  armies, 
without  the  consent  of  our  Legislatures. 

4  He  has  affected  to  render  the  military  independent  of  and 
superior  to  the  civil  power. 

1  For  imposing  taxes  on  us  without  our  consent. 

'For  depriving  us  in  many  cases  of  the  benefit  of  trial  by 
jury.'" 

These  quotations  from  the  Declaration  of  Independence  aptly 
describe  the  doings  of  the  Republicans  in  Congress  and  the  military 
rule  that  they  have  established.  Congress  has  done  what  our  fore 
fathers  charged  upon  a  British  king  as  a  crime,  fully  authorizing 
them  to  throw  off  the  yoke  of  tyranny. 

After  considering  Avhat  the  Republican  party  has  done,  and 
what  it  has  omitted,  no  candid  man  can  say  that  the  country  has 
been  benefited  by  its  coming  into  power,  but,  on  the  contrary, 
it  has  been  largely  and  seriously  injured.  How  long  will  the  peo 
ple  be  content  that  the  present  state  of  things  shall  continue? 
This  is  a  question  for  the  people  to  settle.  They  have  now  a 
thousand  unsettled  questions,  where  they  had  one  before  the  war. 

136.— ARE  NOT  ALL  THE  STATES  IN  DANGER  ? 

The  broad  ground  is  now  assumed  that  all  the  States  must  have 
governments  republican  in  form,  and  that  Congress  has  the  power 
to  determine  whether  they  arc  in  such  form  or  not.  If  it  shall 
be  of  opinion  that  any  one  is  not  in  such  form,  then  Congress 
claims  it  can  coerce  and  compel  it  to  adopt  such  a  form  as  it  may 
sec  fit  to  require.  It  is  not  the  people  of  a  State,  but  Congress, 
which  prescribes  the  standard  and  forces  States  into  conformity 
with  caucus  dictation.  Maryland  was  one  of  the  original  thir 
teen  colonies,  and  afterward  States,  and  has  produced  its  full  pro 
portion  of  able,  wise,  and  patriotic  men.  It  has  just  now  been 


AKE   NOT   ALL   THE   STATES    IN   DANGEE  ?  373 

discovered,  by  a  Republican  member  of  Congress  from  that  State, 
^ho  has  been  most  of  his  days  in  public  life,  that  the  constitu 
tion  of  the  State  is  not  republican  in  form.  A  committee  of  the 
House  has  been  inquiring  into  the  matter.  But  we  have  not  seen 
a  report  from  it.  The  plan  of  operations  shadowed  forth  was 
this :  Congress  should  inquire  whether  the  constitution  of  Mary 
land  was  republican  in  form,  and  if  in  its  opinion  it  was  not,  then 
the  State  should  be  denied  representation  in  Congress  until  it 
should  amend  its  constitution,  and  conform  it  to  the  standard  of 
the  Republican  party.  If  it  should  be  ruled  out  as  a  State,  it 
would  seem  to  be  a  natural  consequence  that  Congress  should  in 
stitute  a  military  government  until  it  should  comply  with  the  de 
mands  of  Congress.  Of  course,  Congress  can  do  in  every  other 
State — if  it  dared  to — what  it  could  in  Maryland.  The  principles 
avowed  by  Congress,  and  which  are  now  being  acted  upon,  would 
authorize  it  to  compel  every  State  to  modify  its  constitution  and 
form  of  government  so  as  to  bring  it  to  the  Republican  standard. 
The  States  can,  in  this  way,  be  forced,  one  by  one,  by  a  majority 
in  Congress,  to  obey  the  will  of  the  party  controlling  it.  New 
York  may  be  called  to  the  bar  of  Congress,  as  well  as  Maryland, 
Connecticut,  or  Ohio,  or  any  other  State.  By  taking  one  at  a 
time,  the  States  may  be  forced  into  obedience,  if  they  seek  a  place 
under  the  protecting  wing  of  the  Federal  Government.  There  is 
no  constitutional  provision  or  law  denning  what  constitutes  a  re 
publican  form  of  government.  The  lexicographers  of  the  period 
of  framing  the  national  Constitution  furnish  no  definition  indicat 
ing  any  thing  beyond  a  general  outline.  Its  common  meaning  of 
that  day  is  found  in  Rees's  "  Encyclopaedia  "  in  these  words :  "  a 
commonwealth,  a  popular  state,  or  government ;  a  nation  where 
the  body,  or  only  a  part  of  the  people,  have  the  government  in 
their  own  hands.  When  the  body  of  the  people  is  possessed  of 
the  supreme  power,  this  is  called  a  democracy"  Ancient  repub 
lics  were  contradistinguished  from  monarchies  and  aristocracies, 
but  differed  from  each  other  more  widely  than  do  our  State  gov 
ernments.  Athens,  Sparta,  Rome,  Carthage,  Genoa,  Venetia,  the 
Dutch  States-General,  the  Swiss  Cantons,  and  United  Provinces 
of  the  Netherlands,  were  all  called  republics.  But  their  internal  ar- 


374:  DEMOCRACY    IN    THE   UNITED    STATES. 

rangements,  providing  the  hands  in  which  the  power  of  govern 
ment  was  lodged,  differed  very  essentially.     But  the  framers  of 
our  Constitution  had  immediately  before  them  thirteen  State  gov 
ernments,  each  claiming  to  be  republican  in  form,  and  which  had 
been  in  practical  operation  several  years — during  the  Revolution 
ary  War  and  the  Confederation.     These  were  the  identical  States 
which  were  to  compose  the  Federal  Government,  and  to  be  pro 
tected  under  the  guaranty  clause  by  it.     These  State  governments, 
though  republican  in  form,  differed  widely  in  relation  to  the  right 
of  suffrage,  appointments  to,  and  the  duration  of  offices,  and  nu 
merous  other  things.     The  pledge  guaranteeing  to  the  States  gov 
ernments  republican  in  form,  referred  to  these  State  governments 
as  they  then  existed,  without  reference  to  any  particular  standard. 
Rhode  Island  was  admitted  with  no  other  constitution  than  the 
charter  granted  by  Charles  II.,  in  1663.     Some  of  the  States  per 
mitted  only  freeholders  to  vote,  and  nearly  every  one  excluded 
negroes.     Whatever  might  be  the  details,  the  authors  of  the  Con 
stitution  considered  them  republican  in  form  at  the  time  their 
assent  was  given  to  the  Constitution.     Mr.  Madison,  in  the  Fed 
eralist,  says:  "But  the  authority  extends  no  farther  than  to  a 
guaranty  of  a  republican  form  of  government,  which  supposes 
a  preexisting  government  of  the  form  which   is  to  be  guaran 
teed.      As   long,    therefore,    as    the    existing    republican    forms 
are  continued  by  the  States,  they  are  guaranteed  by  the  Federal 
Constitution.     Whenever   the   States   may  choose  to  substitute 
other  republican  forms,  they  have  a  right  to  do  so,  and  to  claim 
the  Federal  guaranty  for  the  latter.     The  only  restriction  imposed 
on  them  is,  that  they  shall  not  exchange  republican  for  anti-repub 
lican  constitutions,  a  restriction  which,  it  is  presumed,  will  hardly 
be  considered  a  grievance."    Congress,  when  admitting  new  States, 
deemed  their  constitutions  republican  in  form,  or  their  applications 
for  admission  would  have  been  rejected. 

But  now  Congress  ignores  all  these  considerations,  and  erects 
a  standard  of  its  own  by  which  to  adjudge  the  rights  of  both  the 
original  and  new  States.  States  are  now  required  to  have  consti 
tutions  which  will  secure,  through  negro  votes,  the  ascendency  of 
the  Republican  party,  in  order  to  come  within  the  modern  defini- 


ABE   NOT   ALL   THE    STATES   IN   DANGER?  375 

1ion.  This  is  the  legitimate  effect  of  what  is  claimed.  Senator 
Simmer,  who  controls  the  Republicans  in  the  Senate,  in  a  letter 
to  the  Independent,  made  this  avowal  in  behalf  of  the  Republican 
party : 

"  SENATE  CHAMBER,  20th  April,  1867. 

"  MY  DEAR  SIR  :  You  wish  to  have  the  North  '  reconstructed,* 
so  at  least  that  it  shall  cease  to  deny  the  elective  franchise  on 
account  of  color.  But  you  postpone  the  day  by  insisting  on  the 
preliminary  of  a  constitutional  amendment.  I  know  your  vows  to 
the  good  cause  ;  but  ask  you  to  make  haste.  We  cannot  wait. .  .  . 
This  question  must  be  settled  without  delay.  In  other  words,  it 
must  be  settled  before  the  presidential  election,  which,  is  at  hand. 
Our  colored  fellow-citizens  at  the  South  are  already  voters.  They 
will  vote  at  the  presidential  election.  But  why  should  they  vote 
at  the  South  and  not  at  the  North  2  The  rule  of  justice  is  the 
same  for  both.  Their  votes  are  needed  at  the  North  as  well  as 
at  the  South.  There  are  Northern  States  where  their  votes  can 
make  the  good  cause  safe  beyond  question. 

"  There  are  other  States  where  their  votes  will  be  like  the  last 
preponderant  weight  in  the  nicely-balanced  scales.  Let  our 
colored  fellow-citizens  vote  in  Maryland,  and  that  State,  now  so 
severely  tried,  will  be  fixed  for  human  rights  forever.  Let  them 
vote  in  Pennsylvania,  and  you  will  give  more  than  20,000  votes 
to  the  Republican  cause.  Let  them  vote  in  New  York,  and  the 
scales,  which  hang  so  doubtfully,  will  incline  to  the  Republican 
cause.  It  will  be  the  same  in  Connecticut.  .  .  .  Enfranchisement, 
which  is  the  corollary  and  complement  of  emancipation,  must  be 
a  national  act  also  proceeding  from  the  national  Government,  and 
applicable  to  all  the  States" 

There  is  no  mistaking  Mr.  Simmer's  object.  It  is  to  force  all 
the  States,  through  congressional  action,  to  admit  the  negroes  to 
the  full  right  of  suffrage,  so  as  to  carry  the  presidential  election. 
Maryland,  Pennsylvania,  and  New  York,  are  named  as  States 
which  must  be  made  to  concede  what  he  demands  for  the  ne 
groes.  Why  did  he  not  speak  of  Ohio  ?  The  action  of  Congress 
will  be  limited  only  by  its  power  over  its  members.  If  they  fear  the 
effect  of  excluding  the  representatives  from  the  States  named,  and 


376  DEMOCRACY    IN   THE    UNITED    STATES. 

others,  then  they  will  probably  declare  the  new  proposed  amend 
ment  of  the  Constitution  to  have  been  adopted  by  the  requisite 
number  of  States,  excluding  the  ten  Southern,  and  insist  that  what 
is  now  sought  to  be  forced  into  State  constitutions  forms  a 
part  of  that  of  the  nation  by  virtue  of  this  amendment.  If  neces 
sary,  they  will  doubtless  admit  all  the  Territories  as  new  States, 
where  they  are  sure  they  will  be  Eepublican,  so  as  to  have  the  requi 
site  three-fourths.  The  old  free  States  are  certainly  in  danger  of 
being  deprived  of  their  constitutional  rights  and  privileges  by  a 
congressional  revolution  of  the  Federal  Government.  Is  it  to  be 
supposed  that,  when  the  Republicans  have  made  the  negroes 
voters  in  all  the  States,  they  will  omit  to  consider  the  ques 
tion  whether  the  small  States  are  entitled  to  the  same  voice  in  the 
Senate  as  the  large  ?  No  one  can  foresee  the  end  of  nominal  Re 
publicanism — which  adopts  the  absurd  theory  of  controlling  so 
ciety,  instead  of  permitting  society  to  control  itself. 

137.— ISSUES  TO  BE  TRIED  BY  THE  PEOPLE. 

Every  election  has  its  issues,  as  much  as  every  suit  in  the 
courts.  But  they  are  often  false  issues,  the  determination  of 
which  does  not  close  the  controversy.  They  are  often  got  up  and 
presented  to  deceive  and  mislead.  All  such  issues  leave  the  real 
questions  undetermined  and  open  for  future  controversy.  Some 
times  the  real  issues  are  skilfully  concealed  from  sight,  or  covered 
up  in  words,  intended  rather  to  hide  than  to  convey  thoughts. 
For  several  years  past,  the  Republican  party  has  failed,  in  its  plat 
forms,  to  disclose  its  real  intentions,  and  has  misled  the  public 
by  false  issues.  Not  one  of  its  platforms  has  disclosed  the  real 
policy  subsequently  pursued.  This  effort  to  conceal  the  real  pur 
pose  of  the  Republican  party  will  be  again  attempted.  Unless  the 
true  issues  are  presented  and  pressed  by  the  Democratic  party, 
the  voters  will  be  again  misled.  The  issues  should  be  made  up 
more  from  the  acts  than  the  professions  of  the  Republican  leaders. 
It  often  happens  that  the  latter  point  in  exactly  opposite  directions 
to  their  acts. 

The  Republicans  have  now  been  actors  for  seven  years,  and 
the  issues  grow  out  of  their  recorded  acts.     They  arc  made  do- 


ISSUES    TO   BE    TEIED   BY   THE   PEOPLE.  377 

fendants  because  of  their  illegal,  impolitic,  and  unconstitutional 
proceedings.  Their  action  is  unauthorized,  and  they  are  called 
upon  to  defend  and  show  it  to  be  legal,  which  they  cannot  do, 
and  the  verdict  and  judgment  must  be  against  them.  Amono-  the 
charges,  we  enumerate  the  following  : 

FIRST.  Congress  violated  the  Constitution  in  passing  the  Legal- 
Tender  Law. 

The  Constitution  clothes  Congress  with  power  to  coin  money 
and  to  declare  the  value  of  foreign  coins,  but  does  not  invest 
it  with  authority  to  declare  any  thing  else  a  legal  tender,  and 
one  of  the  amendments  declares  that  all  powers  not  granted,  or 
necessary  to  the  exercise  of  express  powers,  are  reserved  to  the 
States  or  the  people.  It  is  not  necessary  for  the  execution  of  any 
power  to  make  paper  a  legal  tender.  Besides,  this  act  greatly 
diminished  the  value  of  all  debts  due  to  individuals,  all  annuities 
and  salaries,  and  Congress  has  raised  nearly  all  the  latter,  includ 
ing  its  own  in  consequence  of  it,  thereby  increasing  the  expenses 
of  the  Government  many  millions  annually.  The  Republican 
party  cannot  deny  that  they  are  guilty  of  this  charge,  or  the  evil 
consequences  flowing  from  that  guilt. 

Before  the  party  came  into  power,  it  assumed  to  be  sectional. 
In  other  words,  a  convention  was  called  to  nominate  President 
and  Yice-President,  on  sectional  grounds — the  North  against  the 
South. 

SECOND.  By  the  Legal-Tender  Act,  the  Government  was 
pledged  to  redeem  the  paper  issued  under  it  in  bonds  payable  in  not 
less  than  Jive  nor  more  than  twenty  years,  with  interest  payable  in 
gold,  thus  entering  in  to  an  expresscontract  with  the  holders  ;  and, 
without  constitutional  authority,  Congress  has  repealed  this  part 
of  the  act,  thereby  violating  the  contract,  and  rendering  this  paper 
far  less  valuable. 

This  funding  provision  was  necessary  to  give  this  paper  credit 
with  the  people.  It  was  printed  on  the  paper  itself,  until  the  re 
peal  of  the  law,  leaving  it  without  any  promise  on  the  part  of  the 
Government  to  pay  or  fund  it,  which  the  holders  can  enforce,  ex 
cept  at  its  pleasure.  Congress  is  authorized  to  borrow  money  on 


378  DEMOCRACY    IN    THE   UNITED    STATES. 

contract,  but  has  no  authority  whatever  to  violate  or  change  that 
contract.  This  has  been  done  to  an  enormous  extent,  at  a  very 
great  loss  to  the  holders  and  the  Government.  This  charge  can 
not  be  denied. 

THIRD.  The  Tenure-of- Office  Bill  violates  the  Constitution  in 
the  six  following  particulars  : 

1.  In  forbidding  the  President  to  remove  officers  where  he 
believes  his  duty  requires  him  to  displace  them. 

2.  In  requiring  the  President  to  report  to  the  Senate  his  rea 
sons  for  a  removal,  and  requiring  the  restoration  of  the  officer, 
when  the  Senate  does  not  approve  the  reasons  assigned. 

3.  In  requiring  the  President  to  retain,  against  his  sense  of 
duty,  his  cabinet  officers  during  his  term  of  office,  and  in  imposing 
them  upon  his  successor  for  one  month  after  he  comes  into  office. 

4.  In  making  it  a  criminal  offence  to  accept  and  perform  the 
duties  of  any  office  not  authorized  by  this  act. 

5.  In  declaring  it  to  be  a  high  misdemeanor  for  the  President 
to  issue  commissions  to  appointees  under  the  Constitution,  if  not 
permitted  by  this  unconstitutional  law. 

6.  In  making  it  a  criminal  offence  to  allow,  and  pay  for  the 
services  of  officers  duly  appointed  by  the  President  under  the 
Constitution,  though  not  appointed  in  conformity  with  the  require 
ments  of  this  void  statute. 

These  six  provisions  are  unauthorized  by  the  Constitution,  are 
calculated  to  prevent  the  President  from  performing  his  sworn  duty 
to  see  that  the  laws  are  duly  executed ;  to  produce  insubordination 
among  officials,  and  to  continue  incompetent  men  and  rogues  in 
office,  and  prevent  the  proper  execution  of  the  laws.  It  was 
passed  to  reward  partisans  by  continuing  them  in  office,  when  they 
ought  to  be  removed  for  the  good  of  the  public  service.  No  one 
can  question  that  this  law  is  void  in  these  six  particulars. 

FOURTH.  The  Freedmen's  Bureau  Act  and  amendments  are 
unauthorized  by  the  Constitution. 

The  Constitution  docs  not  authorize  any  such  Bureau.  The 
revenues  which  can  be  lawfully  raised  are  directed  by  it  to  be 
used  for  wholly  different  purposes.  Congress  is  not  authorized  to 


ISSUES   TO   BE   TRIED   BY   THE   PEOPLE.  3  TO 

provide  for  the  support  of  negroes  or  refugees,  nor  to  give  them 
lands  which  the  owners  do  not  occupy,  nor  to  confer  on  the  mili 
tary  the  right  to  control  the  acts  of  the  people  in  the  Southern 
States  in  their  business  affairs,  nor  to  close  the  courts  of  justice  and 
substitute  condemned  military  commissions.  It  is  no  justifica 
tion  for  this  unconstitutional  act,  that  a  previous  like  act  had 
rendered  something  of  the  kind  apparently  necessary.  Two 
wrongs  cannot  make  a  right.  One  violation  of  the  Constitution 
can  never  rightfully  excuse  another.  Even  if  the  first  were  legal, 
it  will  not  authorize  what  is  illegal. 

FIFTH.  In  refusing  the  admission  of  Senators  and  members, 
after  the  restoration  of  the  States  and  after  they  had  amended  their 
constitutions  by  abolishing  slavery,  renouncing  secession  and  the 
right  to  secede,  and  prohibiting  the  payment  of  the  rebel  debt,  and 
assenting  to  the  anti-slavery  amendment  of  the  Federal  Constitution. 

This  refusal  was  in  violation  of  the  constitutional  right  of  the 
States,  and  against  the  pledge  of  Congress,  almost  unanimously 
passed  on  the  25th  of  July,  1861,  and  the  recitals  in  acts  of  Con 
gress,  and  in  Mr.  Lincoln's  proclamations  and  the  decisions  of  the 
courts.  The  Republicans  feared  they  should  lose  their  power  in 
Congress  if  they  permitted  the  secessionists  to  be  represented,  and 
therefore  they  excluded  twenty  Senators  and  about  fifty  members. 

SIXTH.  In  depriving  the  President,  as  Commander-in- Chief 
of  the  Army  of  the  United  States,  of  his  right  to  command  it  as 
provided  by  the  Constitution. 

The  Constitution  in  words  makes  the  President  Commander- 
in-Chief  of  the  Army  and  Navy,  but  Congress,  in  the  Army  Ap 
propriation  Bill  of  March  2,  1867,  deprived  him  of  that  power, 
lie  is  not  now  permitted  to  order  the  General  of  the  x\rmy  on  duty 
as  he  thinks  best,  nor  to  issue  orders  except  through  him,  and  it 
forbids  his  removal,  suspension,  or  assignment  to  duty  away  from 
Washington,  except  by  his  own  request,  without  the  consent  of 
the  Senate.  Congress  has  made  it  a  criminal  offence  to  issue  or 
obey  orders  not  sent  through  this  General.  This  provision  is  not 
only  unauthorized  by  the  Constitution,  but  is  in  conflict  with  its 
express  provisions,  and  destructive  of  the  subordination  and  effi- 


380  DEMOCRACY   IN   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

cicncy  of  the  army.  It  is  tb rough  this  void  act  that  the  Repub 
licans  in  Congress  control  the  Southern  States  by  the  bayonet 
power. 

SEVENTH.  The  three  Reconstruction  Acts  are  in  violation  of  the 
letter  and  spirit  of  the  Constitution. 

1.  These  acts  falsely  declare  that  there  are  no  legal  govern 
ments  in  the  ten  secession  States,  and  then  divide  them  into  five 
military  districts,  and  place  them  under  the  command  of  military 
officers. 

2.  They  authorize  them  to  exercise  all  power,  civil  and  mili 
tary,  and  permit  military  commissions  to  try  persons  in  civil  life,  con 
trary  to  the  express  decision  of  the  United  States  Supreme  Court. 

3.  Tbey  authorize  the  negroes  and  a  limited  number  of  white 
men  to  organize  State  governments  which  shall  exclude  a  majority 
of  white  men  from  participating  therein. 

4.  That  the  whole  management  of  reorganization  is  under  the 
control  of  the  military,  who  act  above  all  law. 

5.  The  military  are  clothed  with  power  to  remove  all  civil  and 
judicial  officers  and  appoint  others  at  will ;  and  the  General  of  the 
Army,  and  not  the  President,  is  made  the  Chief  Executive  to  re 
vise  and  control  their  acts. 

6.  That  these  district  commanders,  or  officers  under  them, 
shall  not  be  bound  by  the  opinion  of  any  civil  officer  of  the  United 
States — meaning  the  President,  Attorney-General,  or  judges  of 
courts. 

7.  The  President,  who  is  sworn  to  see  that  the  laws  are  faith 
fully  executed,  is  excluded  from  the  exercise  of  his  constitutional 
duties,  which  are  conferred  upon  military  officers.     He  is  thus  de 
prived  of  the  means  of  performing  his  constitutional  duty. 

EIGHTH.  In  creating  a  multitude  of  lank  corporations,  mak 
ing  them  officers  of  the  Treasury,  and  their  bills  a  legal  tender  to 
the  Government  and  among  themselves,  ivithout  the  authority  of 
the  Constitution. 

1.  Outside  the  District  of  Columbia,  Congress  has  no  authority 
to  charter  a  corporation. 


ISSUES   TO   BE   TRIED   BY    THE   PEOPLE.  381 

2.  It  has  no  power  to  create  an  artificial  being  to  the  end 
that  an  office  may  be  conferred  upon  it. 

3.  It  has  no  power  to  make  any  thing  but  gold  and  silver  a 
legal  tender. 

4.  Congress  has  no  power  to  institute  and  force  upon  the 
country  a  currency  for  which  it  is  impossible  for  the  holders  to 
obtain  gold  or  silver,  without  submitting  to  a  very  great  and 
ruinous  loss. 

5.  This  act  has  deprived  the  people  of  the  right  to  seek  re 
dress  in  their  local  courts,  when  these  corporations  are  delinquent 
in  conforming  to  the  law ;  and  compels  them  to  go  to  an  execu 
tive  officer  at  Washington  for  relief,  subjecting  them  to  great 
delay  and  ruinous  expense. 

6.  These  banks  have  had  the  effect  to  kill  off  all  specie-paying 
banks,  and  to  expel  from  use  the  only  currency  known  to  the 
Constitution. 

7.  The  legal   questions  which  the  Constitution  authorizes  the 
judiciary  alone  to  decide  are,  under  this  act,  withdrawn  from  the 
courts,  and  committed  to  the  decision  of  a  mere  executive  officer, 
who  has  no  constitutional  power  to  decide  them. 

NINTH.  In  imposing  an  unjustly  discriminating  tax  upon 
State  banks,  thereby  taxing  them  out  of  existence. 

Most  of  the  State  banks  had  secured  public  confidence  to  that 
extent  that  these  non-specie-paying  banks  could  only  secure 
a  foothold,  and  a  good  profitable  circulation,  by  destroying  them, 
consequently  Congress  imposed  a  tax  of  ten  per  cent,  upon  their 
circulation,  and  thus  compelled  them  to  throw  up  their  State  char 
ters  and  to  organize  under  this  unconstitutional  law. 

To  increase  the  temptation  to  do  so,  Congress  enacted  that 
the  capital  of  these  national  banks,  consisting  of  the  debts  of  the 
United  States,  should  be  exempt  from  State  taxation,  and  thus 
several  hundred  millions  of  profitably-invested  capital  escapes 
such  taxation  as  other  capital  is  subject  to.  This  is  intolerable 
injustice,  and  is  without  authority  in  the  Constitution,  and  un 
sound  in  policy. 

TENTH.     That  the  Senate  has  refused  seats  to  Senators  duly 


382  DEMOCRACY    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

elected,  and  ousted  others  from  seats  they  were  entitled  to  occupy  ; 
and  that  the  House  has  withheld  seats  laivfully  claimed,  and  given 
them  to  others  not  entitled  to  them,  in  violation  of  the  constitutional 
rights  of  those  so  ousted  or  refused  such  seats. 

ELEVENTH.  Both  Houses  of  Congress  are  extravagant  in  their 
expenses,  and,  by  keeping  five  armies  on  foot  to  reduce  white  men  to 
the  control  of  negroes,  they  unnecessarily  increase  the  expenses  of 
the  Government  to  the  extent  of  more  than  a  hundred  millions  an 
nually. 

1.  The  public  accounts  show  that  both  Houses  indulge  in  very 
large  expenses  not  necessary  for  the  performance  of  their  duties, 
but  which  tend  to  interfere  with  a  proper  discharge  of  them. 

2.  The  five  armies  sent  South,  and  which  are  used  to  depress 
the  whites  and  elevate  the  negroes,  cost  annually  between  one  and 
two  hundred  millions  of  dollars,  which  is  a  wholly  unnecessary 
expenditure,  and  only  serves  as  an  apology  for  our  enormous  taxa 
tion. 

3.  We  have  no  assurance  that  these  needless  expenses  are 
soon  to  end. 

TWELFTH.  That  Congress,  by  the  power  conferred  upon  the 
military  district  commanders,  under  the  Reconstruction  Acts,  au 
thorizes  them,  in  effect,  to  suspend  the  writ  of  habeas  corpus. 

These  acts  confer  power  upon  the  commanders  over  all  judicial 
proceedings,  and  this  includes  the  habeas  corpus  as  well  as  other 
matters  before  the  courts.  Congress  cannot  vest  such  powers  in 
the  officers  of  the  army,  or  in  anybody  else.  It  is  a  power  which 
it  cannot  delegate  at  all.  But  in  practice  they  exercise  them, 
and,  in  fact,  enforce  the  worst  species  of  military  tyranny,  and 
are  upheld  in  it  by  Congress  and  the  Republican  party.  This  is 
in  hostility  to  the  Constitution  and  the  rights  of  the  people. 

THIRTEENTH.  That  Congress  legislated  the  Circuit  and  Crim 
inal  Courts  of  the  District  of  Columbia  out  of  office,  and  supplied 
their  places  by  a  partisan  court,  without  constitutional  authority. 

The  Circuit  Court  had  three  judges,  not  partisans,  who  ad 
ministered  the  law  as  they  found  it,  which  was  unsatisfactory  to 


ISSUES   TO   BE   TEIED   BY   THE    PEOPLE.  383 

the  Republicans.  There  was  a  vacancy  in  the  criminal  court. 
Congress  repealed  the  laws  creating  these  courts,  and,  reenacting 
them  with  a  few  changes,  supplied  the  places  of  the  judges  of 
both  by  partisan  judges,  who  administer  the  law  in  conformity 
with  the  views  of  the  Republican  party.  A  judiciary  thus  created 
becomes  a  political  instrument  of  oppression,  contrary  to  the  spirit 
of  our  institutions,  instead  of  a  court  to  administer  justice. 

FOURTEENTH.  That  Congress  first  increased  the  number  of 
judges  of  the  Supreme  Court,  and  then  diminished  it  to  secure  a 
majority  of  Republicans  on  the  bench. 

Congress,  when  there  were  nine  judges,  increased  the  number 
to  ten,  adding  one  Republican  to  the  number ;  and  then,  when  a 
vacancy  was  created  by  death,  to  prevent  President  Johnson  ap 
pointing  a  Democrat,  it  passed  a  law  that  no  vacancy  should 
be  filled  until  the  number  should  be  reduced  to  six,  there  being 
live  Republicans  now  on  the  bench,  appointed  by  Mr.  Lincoln. 
The  Republicans,  if  they  secure  a  President  by  the  removal  of 
Mr.  Johnson,  propose  to  increase  the  number  to  thirteen,  so  as  to 
secure  the  Judicial  Department  for  many  years  to  come.  They 
expect  such  a  court  will  decide  that  whatever  Congress  may  enact 
is  legal  and  constitutional. 

FIFTEENTH.  That  our  oppressive  taxes,  and  the  greatly-in- 
creased  expenses  of  living,  are  the  fruits  of  Republican  rule  and 
mismanagement. 

That  our  taxes  are  oppressive,  and  that  expense  of  living  has 
nearly  doubled,  cannot  be  denied.  That  the  Republicans  made 
the  laws  and  have  administered  them,  and  have  done  things  in  their 
own  way,  cannot  be  disputed.  These  things,  then,  are  the  fruits 
of  Republican  rule  and  mismanagement,  and  they  are  responsible. 
Had  they  made  good  laws,  and  practised  economy  in  the  manage 
ment  of  the  Government,  we  should  have  escaped  these  evils. 

SIXTEENTH.  That  the  Republican  party  are  the  authors  of 
the  general  demoralization  of  the  country,  and  responsible  for  it. 

The  country  was  not  demoralized  when  the  Republicans  came 
into  power,  but  that  it  is  so  now  cannot  be  questioned.  They 


334:  DEMOCRACY   IN    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

have  controlled  every  thing  since,  and  given  tone  and  character  to 
the  times,  and  are  therefore  responsible  for  this  consequence, 
which  fills  the  hearts  of  all  good  men  with  present  pain,  and 
with  fearful  apprehensions  for  the  future. 

SEVENTEENTH.  That  the  Republicans  in  Congress  are  impeach 
ing  the  President  upon  frivolous  pretexts  to  get  him  out  of  the  way, 
so  as  to  be  able  by  legislation  to  control  all  branches  of  the  Govern 
ment,  with  the  view  of  so  moulding  and  shaping  its  whole  business 
and  interests  as  to  continue  the  Republicans  in  power. 

1.  The  House,  in  getting  up  their  articles  of  impeachment, 
have  acted  and  voted  as  partisans,  as  directed  by  caucus. 

2.  The  Senate,  in  framing  their  rules  for  the  trial,  and  in  all 
the  preliminary  proceedings,  pushing  it  on  "  with  railroad  speed," 
have  acted  and  voted  as  partisans,  as  if  that  lessened  the  crime  of 
perjury.     The  Republican  party  are  trying  to  dragoon  all  Repub 
lican  Senators  to  vote  for  conviction. 

138.— EXPENSES    OF   THE   NATIONAL   GOVERNMENT. 

When  first  organized,  our  Government  confined  its  operations 
to  the  powers  conferred  upon  it.  It  soon  overstepped  them.  It 
then  practised  moderate  economy.  With  time  it  has  expanded, 
drawing  in  and  swallowing  up  the  powers  of  the  States,  and  en 
gaging  in  unauthorized  enterprises,  until,  for  the  number  of  peo 
ple  and  the  extent  of  its  functions,  it  is  one  of  the  most  expensive 
governments  in  the  civilized  world.  During  its  first  year  and  ten 
months,  when  it  contained  some  five  millions  of  people,  it  cost 
only  $7,207,539.02,  or  $600,653  per  month,  while  now,  with  a 
population  of  some  thirty-two  millions,  our  expenses,  in  time  of 
peace,  have  swollen  to  $1,093,079,655.27,  or  over  $91,000,000 
per  month.  During  the  war  these  expenses  were  largely  increased, 
and  in  1865  came  up  to  $1,897,674,224.09,  or  over  $158,000.000 
per  month. 

The  following  statistics  are  from  the  appendix  to  the  Report 
of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  for  the  year  ending  the  30th  of 
June,  1867  : 


EXPENSES   OF   THE   NATIONAL    GOVERNMENT. 


385 


TABLE  I. 


Civil  List. 

Foreign  inter 
course. 

Navy  Depart 
ment. 

War  Department. 

iPr.  Mar.  4,  '£ 
For  the  yeai 

9,  to  Dec.  81,  '91  i     $757,134  4f 
179-)  •        3«n  01  ^  K<- 

$14,733  33             $570  00         $632,804  03 

179S 

358,241  Of- 

78,766  67[                53  02!        1,100,702  09 
89  500  00                                11  an  VAQ  ns 

1794 

440,9-1(5  5b 

146,403  51 

61  408  97        2.629.097  59 

1795 

361,633  :-ji 

912,685  12 

410,562  03        2,480,910  13 

179( 

447,1::!)  o: 

184,859  64 

274,784  04        1,260,263  84 

1797 

483,233  70 

669,783  54 

382,631  89        1,039,402  (56 

1798 

504,605  17 

457,428  74 

1,381,347  76        2.009,522  30 

1799 

592,905  76 

271,374  1 

2,858,081  81        2,46(5,946  98 

1800 

748,688  45        395,288  Ih 

3,448,716  03        2,560,878  77 

1801 

549,283  31 

295,67(i  7 

2,111,424  00 

1,672.94-1  08 

1802 

596,981  11 

550,925  9. 

915,561  87        1,179,148  25 

1803 

526,5S.'!  1- 

1,110,834  77 

1,215,230  53;           822.055  85 

1804        624,795  63 

1,186,655  5" 

1,189,832  75 

875,423  93 

1805 

585.8-19  7! 

2,798,028  77 

1,597.500  00 

712,781  28 

1800 

684,230  53 

1,760,421  30 

1,649,641  44 

1,224,355  38 

1807 

655,524  65 

577.8-41  i  :! 

1,722.064  47 

1,288,685  91 

1808 

691,167  80 

304^92  8: 

1,884,067  80 

2,900,834  40 

1809 

712,465  1? 

166,306  0- 

2,427,758  80 

3.347,772  1? 

1810 

703.9!)  1  o: 

81,367  48 

1,654,244  20 

2,294,323  94 

1811 

644,467  27 

264,904  4~ 

1,965.5(1(5  :;'.) 

2,032,828  19 

1812 

826,271  55 

347,703  29 

3,959,365  15 

11,817,798  24 

1813 

780,545  45 

209,941  01 

6,446,600  10 

19,662,013  02 

1814 

927,424  23 

177,179  9" 

7,311,290  60 

20,350,806  86 

1815 

852,247  10 

290,892  04 

8,660,000  25 

14,794,294  22 

1816 

1,208,125  77 

364,620  40 

3.908,278  30 

16,012.096  80 

1817 

994,556  17 

281,995  97 

3,314,598  49,        8,004,236  53 

1818 

1,109.559  79 

420,429  90 

2,953.695  00 

5,622,715  10 

1819 

1,142,180  41 

284,113  94 

3,847,640  42 

6,506,300  37 

1820 

1,248,310  05 

253,370  0^ 

4,387,990  00 

2,630,392  31 

1821 

1,112,292  61 

207,110  75 

3,319,243  06 

4,461,291  78 

1822 

1,158,131  58 

164,879  51 

2,224,458  98 

3,111.981  48 

1823 

1,058.911  65 

292,118  Bf 

2  503.  7!  15  s;; 

3,096,924  43 

1824 

1,336,266  24 

*5,140.099  8: 

2,904,581  56 

3,340,939  85 

1825 

1,330,747  24 

87l.66i;  -j: 

3,049,083  8(5 

3,659.913  18 

1826 

1,256,745  48 

232,719  Oh 

4,218,902  45 

3,943,194  37 

1827 

1,228,141  01 

659,211  87 

4.263,877  45 

3,938,977  88 

1828 

1,455,490  58 

1,001,193  66 

3,918,786  44 

4,145,544  56 

1829 

1,327,069  36 

207,765  85 

3,308,745  47 

6.250,230  28 

1830 

1,579,724  64 

294,067  27 

3,239,428  63 

6,752,688  60 

1831 

1,373,755  !>'.) 

298,554  00 

3,85(5,183  07 

4.846.405  61 

1832 

1.800,757  74 

325,181  07 

3,956,370  29 

5,446,131  23 

1833 

1,5(52,758  28 

955,3!ir,  JNS 

3.901,356  75 

6,705,0-20  9.1 

1834 

2.080.601  60 

241,562  35 

3,956,2(50  42        5,698,517  51 

1835 

1,905,551  51 

774,750  2h 

3,864,939  06        5,827,948  57 

1836 

2,110,175  47 

533,382  65 

5,807,718  23       11,791,208  0^ 

1837 

2,357,035  94 

4,603,905  40 

6.646,914  53       13.731,172  3i 

183S 

2,688,708  56 

1,215,095  52 

6,131.580  53!      13,088,169  69 

1839 

2,116,982  77 

987,667  90 

6,182,294  25 

9,227,045  90 

1840 

2,736,769  31 

683,278  15 

6,113,896  89 

7,155,204  9q 

1841 

2,556,471  79 

428,410  57 

6,001,076  97 

9,042,749  92 

1842 

2,905,041  65 

563,191  41 

8,397,212  95 

6,658,137  IG 

Six  mo's  end' 

2  June  30,  1843 

1.222,422  48 

400,566  01 

3,727,711  53 

3,104,638  48 

Fiscal  yr.  end 

g  June  30,  1844 

2,451,958  15 

636,079  66 

6,498.199  11 

5.192,445  05 

18-15 

2,369,652  79 

702,637  22 

6,297,177  89 

5.819,888  Sn 

1846 

2,532.232  92 

409,292  55 

6,455,013  92 

10,362,374  3« 

18-17 

2.570,338  44 

405,079  10 

7,900,635  76 

35,776,495  7o 

1848 

2,647,802  87 

448,593  01 

9,408,476  02 

27,838,374  80 

1849 

2,865,196  91 

6,908,99(5  72 

9,77(5.705  92 

16,563,543  So 

1850 

3,027,454  39 

5.990,858  81 

7,904,724  66 

9,687,924  5o 

1851 

3,481,219  51 

6.25(5.427  16 

8.880,581  38       12,161,965  If 

1852     3,439,923  22     4,196,321  59 

8,918,842  lOi        8,521,506  lq 

*  Purchase  of  Florida. 


386 


DEMOCRACY   IN   THE   UNITED    STATES. 


TABLE  L— (Continued.) 


Civil  List. 

Foreign  inter 
course. 

Navy  Depart 
ment, 

War  Department. 

Fiscal  yr.  end'g  June  30,  1853 
1854 

$4,265  861  68 
4,621,492  24 

$950,871  30  $11,067,789  53 
*7,  763,812  31  j  10,790,096  32 

$9,910,498  49 
11,722,282  97 

1855 

6,350,875  88 

997,007  26    13,327,095  11 

14,648,074  07 

1856 

6,452,256  35 

8,642,615  39    14,074,834  64 

16,963,160  51 

1857 

7,611,547  27 

999,177  65 

12,651,694  61 

19,159,150  87 

1858 

7,116,339  04 

1,396,508  72 

14,053,264  64 

25,679,121  63 

1859 

5,913,281  50 

981,946  87 

14,690,927  90 

23,15-1.720  53 

1860 

6,077,088  95 

1,146,143  79 

11,514.649  83 

14,472,202  72 

1861 

6,074,141  83 

1,147,786  91 

12,387,156  52 

23,001,530  67 

1862 

5,939,009  29 

1,339,710  35 

42,674.:>69  C,9 

394,468,407  36 

1863 

6,350,618  78 

1,231,413  06 

63,211,105  27 

599,298,600  83 

1864 

8,059,177  23 

1,290,691  92 

85,733,292  77 

690,791,842  97 

1865 

10,833,944  87 

1,260,818  08 

122,567,776  12 

1,031,323,360  79 

1866 
1867 

12,287,828  55 
15,585,489  55 

1,338,388  18    43,324,118  52 
1,548,589  261  31,034,011  04 

284,449,701  82 
95,22-1,415  63 

TABLE  II. 


Pensions. 

Indians. 

Miscellaneous. 

Total  of  ordinary 
expenditures. 

Fr.  Mar.  4,  '89,  to  Dec.  31,  '91 

$175,813  88 

$27,000  00 

$311,533  83 

$1,919,589  52 

For  the  year                   1792 

109  243  15 

13,648  85 

194,572  32 

1,877,903  77 

1793 

80,017  81 

27,282  83 

24,709  46 

1,710,070  26 

1794 

81,399  24 

13,042  46 

118,248  30 

3,500,546  65 

1795 

68,673  22 

23,475  69 

92.718  50 

4,350,658  04 

1796 

100,843  71 

113,563  98 

150,476  14 

2,531,930  40 

1797 

92,256  97 

62,396  38 

103.880  82 

2,833,590  96 

1798 

104,845  33 

16,470  09 

149,004  15 

4,623,223  54 

1799 

95,444  03 

20,302  19 

175,111  81 

6,480,166  72 

1800 

64,130  73 

31  22 

193,636  59 

7,411,369  77 

1801 

73,533  37 

9,000  00 

269,803  41 

4,981,669  90 

1802 

85,440  39 

94,000  00 

315,022  36 

3.78Y,079  91 

1803 

62,902  10 

60,000  00 

205,217  87 

4,002.824  44 

1804 

80,092  80 

116,500  00 

379.558  23 

4,452,858  91 

1805 

81,854  59 

196,500  00 

384,720  19 

3,737,079  91 

1806 

81,875  53 

234,200  00 

455,485  18 

6,080,209  36 

1807 

70,500  00 

205,425  00 

464,546  52 

4,984,572  89 

1808 

82,576  04 

213,575  00 

427,124  68 

6,504,338  85 

1809 

87,833  54 

387,503  84 

337,032  62 

7,414,672  14 

1810 

83.744  10 

177,625  00 

315,783  47 

5,311,082  28 

1811 

75,043  88 

151,875  00 

457,919  66 

5,592,604  86 

1812 

91,402  10 

277,8-15  00 

509,113  37 

17,829,498  70 

1813 

86,989  91 

167,358  28 

738,949  15 

28,082.396  92 

1814 

90,164  36 

167,394  86 

1,103,425  50 

30,127,686  38 

1815 

69,656  06 

530,750  00 

1,755,731  27 

26,953,571  00 

1816 

188,804  15 

274,512  16 

1,416,995  00 

23,373,432  58 

1817 

297,374  43 

319,463  71 

2,242,384  62 

15,454,609  92 

1818 

1  890,  719  90 

505,704  27 

2,305,849  82 

13,808,672  78 

1819 

2,415,939  85 

463,181  39 

1,640.917  06 

16,300,273  44 

1820 

3,208,376  31 

315,750  01 

1,090,341  85 

13,134,530  57 

1821 

242,817  25 

477,005  44 

903,718  15 

10,723,479  07 

1822 

1,948,199  40 

575,007  41 

644.<is;>  15 

9,827,643  51 

1823 

1,780,588  52 

380,781  82 

671.063  78 

9,784,154  53 

1824 

1,498,326  59 

429,<>>7  !M 

678,912  74 

15,330,144  71 

1825 

1,308,810  57 

724,106  44 

1,046.131  40 

11,490,459  9t 

1826 

1,556,593  83 

743.417  83 

1,110.713  23 

13,062.316  27 

1827 

976,148  86 

760.<i-,M  ^ 

826,123  67 

12,653.095  65 

1828 

850,573  57 

705,084  24 

1,219,368  40 

13,296,041  45 

*  Includes  seven  millions  of  Mexican  indemnity, 
embrace  large  sums  paid  to  Mexico. 
t  The  first  Revolutionary  pensions. 


The  years  1819  to  1852  also 


EXPENSES    OF   THE   NATIONAL    GOVERNMENT.  387 

TABLE  II.— (Continued.) 


Pensions. 

Indians. 

Miscellaneous. 

Total  of  ordinary 
expenditures. 

For  the  year 

1829 

$949,594  47 

$576.344  74 

$1.565,679  66 

$12  660,400  62 

1830 

1,363,297  31 

622.262  47 

1,363,624  13 

13,229',533  33 

1831 

1,170,665  14 

926,1(57  98 

1.392,3:JO  11 

13,8(54.067  90 

1832 

1,184,422  40 

1,352,323  40      2,45^202  64 

16,516,388  77 

1833 

4,589,152  40 

1,801,977  08 

3,198,091  77 

22,713,755  11 

1834 

3.364,285  30 

1,002,625  07 

2,082,565  00 

18,425.417  25 

1835 

1,954,711  32 

1,637,652  80 

1.549,396  74 

17,514,950  28 

1836 

2,882,797  96     4,993,160  11 

2,749,721  60 

30,868,164  04 

1837 

2,672,162  45     4,299,594  68 

2,932,428  93 

37,243,214  24 

1838 

2,156,057  29 

5,313,245  81 

3,256,868  18 

32,849,718  08 

1839 

3,142,750  50 

2.218,967  18 

2,621,340  20 

26,496,948  72 

1840 

2,603,562  17 

2,271,857  10 

2,575,351  50 

24,139.920  11 

1841 

2,388,434  51 

2,273,697  44 

3,505,999  09 

26,196,840  29 

Sixmo'sencTg 
Fiscal  yr.  end's 

1842 
June  30,  1843 
JJ  une  30,  1844 

1,378,931  33 
839,041  12 
2,032,008  99 

1,151,400  54 
382,404  47 
1,282.271  00 

3,307,391  55 
1,579,724  48 
2,554,146  05 

24,361,336  59 
11.256,508  60 
20.650,108  01 

1845 

2,398,8(57  29 

1,467,774  95 

2,839,470  97 

21,895,369  61 

1846 

1,809,739  62 

1,080,047  80 

3,769,758  42 

26,418,459  59 

1847 

1,742,820  85 

1,496,008  69 

3,910,190  81 

53.801,569  37 

1848 

1,226,500  92 

1,103.251  78 

2,554,455  37 

45,227,454  77 

18-19 

193,695  87 

509,263  25 

3,111,140  61 

39,933,542  61 

1850 

1,866.886  02 

1,663,591  47 

7,025,450  16 

37,165,990  09 

1851 

2,293,377  22 

2,829,801  77 

8,146,577  33 

41,049,949  48 

1852 

2,401,858  78 

3,043,576  04 

9,867,926  64 

40,389,954  56 

1853 

1,736,262  45 

3,900,537  87 

12,246,335  03 

44,078,156  35 

1854 

1,369,009  47 

1,413,995  08 

13,461,450  13 

51,142,138  42 

1855 

1,542,255  40 

2,708,347  71 

16,738,442  29 

56,312,097  72 

1856 

1,344,027  70 

2,596,465  92 

15,260,475  94 

60,533,836  45 

1857 

1,423,770  85 

4,241,028  60 

18,946,189  91 

65,032,559  76 

1858 

1,221,163  14 

4,976,871  34 

17,847,851  19 

72,291,119  70 

1859 

161,190  66 

4,551,566  58 

16,873,771  68 

66,327,405  72 

1860 

1,100,802  32 

2.991,121  54 

20,708,183  43 

60,010,112  58 

1861 

1,034.599  73 

2,865,481  17 

16,026,574  79 

62.537,171  62 

1862 

879,583  23 

2,223,402  27 

14,129,771  52 

461.554,453  71 

1863 

3,140,194  44 

1,076,326  35 

15,671,890  24 

689^980,148  97 

1864 

4,979,633  17 

2,538,297  80 

18,155,730  31 

811,548,666  17 

1865 

9,291,610  48 

4,966,964  90 

32,670,795  17 

1,212,911,270  41 

1866 

15,1505,353  35 

3,247,064  56 

27,430,744  81 

387,683,198  79 

1867    20,936,551  71 

4,642,531  77 

33,975,948  46     202,947,537  42 

TABLE  III. 

Interest  on 
public  debt. 

Principal  of 
public  debt. 

Total  debts  and 
loans. 

Total  expenditures. 

Fr.  Mar.  4,  '89, 

to  Dec.  31,  '91 

$2,349,437  44 

$2,938,512  06 

$5,287,949  50 

$7,207,539  02 

For  the  year. 

1792 

3,201,628  23 

4,062,037  76 

7,267,665  90 

9,141.569  67 

1793 

2,772,242  12 

3,047.263  18 

5,819,505  29 

7,529,575  55 

1794 

3,490,292  52 

2.311,285  57 

5,801,378  09 

9,302,124  74 

1795 

3,189,191  16 

2,895,2(50  45 

6,084,411  61 

10,435,069  65 

1796 

3,195,054  53 

2,640,791  91 

5,835,846  44 

8.367,776  84 

1797 

3,300.043  06 

2,492.378  76 

5,792,421  82 

8,626,012  78 

1798 

3,053.281  23 

937,012  86     3,990.294  14 

8,613.517  68 

1799 

3,186,287  60 

1.410,589  18     4,596,876  78 

11,077,043  50 

1800 

3,374.704  72 

1.203.665  23 

4,578.369  95 

11.989.739  92 

1801 

4,412,912  93 

2,878,794  11 

7,291,707  04 

12,273,376  94 

1802 

4,125,038  95 

5,413,905  M 

9,539,004  76 

13.276,084  67 

1803 

3,848.8-28  00 

3,407,331  43 

7,256,159  43 

11,258,983  67 

1804 

4.266.582  85 

3,905,204  90 

8,171,787  45 

12,624,646  36 

1805 

4,148,998  82 

3,220,890  97 

7,369,889  79 

13,727,124  41 

18Q6 

3,723,407  88 

5.266,476  73 

8.9SD.8S1  61 

15,070,093  97 

1807     3,369.578  48     2,938,141  62     6.307.720  10       11,292,292  99 

388 


DEMOCKACY    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


TABLE  III.— (Continued.) 


Interest  on 
public  debt. 

Principal  of 
public  debt. 

Total  debts  and 
loans. 

Total  expenditures. 

For  the  year                    1808 

$3,428,152  87i  $6,832,092  48  *1  0.2fifl  .aifi  RR     4-ir.  VKA  K«/I  on 

1809 

2',866'.074  90^     s!586!479  26 

6,452.554  16       13,867,226  30 

1810 

2.845,427  53 

5,163,476  93 

8,098,994  46       13,319,986  74 

1811 

2,465,733  16 

5,543,470  89 

8,009,204  05 

13,601,808  91 

1812 

2,451,272  57 

1,998,349  88 

4,449,622  45       22,279,121  15 

1813 

3,599,455  .32 

7,505,668  22 

11,108,123  44       39,190,520  36 

1814 

4,593,239  04 

3,307,304  90 

7,900,543  94       88,028.230  32 

1815 

5,754,568  63 

6,874,,353  72 

12,625,922  35       39,582,493  35 

1816 

7,213,258  69    17,657,804  24i  24,871,0(52  93       48,244^95  51 

1817 
1818 

6,389,209  81  j  19,041.826  81  j  25,423,036  12       40,877,646  04 
6.016,446  74    15.279,754  881  21,296,201  62       35,104,875  40 

1819 

5,163,538  11  !     2,540,388  18 

7,703,926  29:      24,004,199  73 

1820 

5,126,097  20 

3,502,397  08 

8,628,494  28       21,763,024  85 

1821 

5,087,274  01 

3,279.821  61 

8,367,093  62       19,090,572  69 

1822 

5,172.578  24 

2,676.370  88 

7,848,949  12       17,676,592  63 

1823 

4,922,684  60 

607;331  81 

5,530,016  41  1      15,314,171  00 

1824 

4,996,562  08 

11.571.831  68 

16,568.393  76  i      31,898,538  47 

1825 

4,366,769  08 

7,728,575  70 

12,095,344  78       23,585,804  73 

182(5 

3.973,480  54 

7,067,601  65 

11,041,082  19       24,103,398  46 

1827 

3;4S6,071  51 

6,517,596  88 

10,003,668  39       22,656,764  0-4 

1828 

3,098,800  59 

9,064,637  48 

12,163.438  07       25,459.479  52 

1829 

2.542.843  23 

9,841,024  55 

12,383;867  78 

25,044,358  40 

1830 

1,913.533  40 

9,442,214  82 

11,355,748  22 

24,585,281  55 

1831 

1,383,582  95 

14,790,795  27 

16,174,378  22!      30,038,446  12 

1832 

772.561  50 

17,067,747  79 

17,840,309  29 

34,356.698  06 

1833 

303.796  87 

1,239,746  51      1,543,543  38 

24,257,298  49 

1834 

202,152  98 

5,974,412  21 

6,176,565  19       24,601.982  44 

1835 

57.863  08 

328  20 

58,191  28       17,573,141  56 

1836        *63,389  85 

*3,140  32|         66.500  17 

30,934,6(54  21 

1837 

21,822  911         21,822  91 

37,265,037  15 

1838 

14,997  54 

5,590,722  731     5,605,720  27 

39.455,438  35 

1839 

399,8.'5-4  24 

10,718,153  19 

11,117,987  43 

37,614,936  15 

1840 

174,635  77 

3,911,977  93 

4,086,613  70 

28,226,553  81 

1841 

288,063  45 

5,312,626  29 

5,600,689  74 

31,797,530  03 

1842 

778,550  06 

7,796,989  88 

8,575.539  94 

32,936,876  53 

Six 

mo's  end's?  June  30,  1843 

528,584  57 

333,011  98 

861,59(5  ;"> 

12,118,105  15 

Fiscal  yr.  end'g  June  30,  1844 
1815 

1,874,863  66 
1,066,985  04 

11,117,039  18 
7,528,054  06 

12,991,902  84 
8,595,039  10 

33,642,010  85 
30,490,408  71 

1846 

S43.2-2H  77 

370,594  54 

1,213.823  31 

27,632,282  90 

1847      1,117,830  22 

5,601,452  15 

6,719,282  37       60,520,851  74 

1848'     3,391,652  17 

13.036,036  '.'5 

15,427,688  42:      60.655,143  19 

1849'     3.554,419  40 

12,898,460  73 

16,452,880  13 

56,386,422  74 

1850'     3.S84.406  95 

3,554,321  22 

7,438,728  17 

44,604,718  26 

1R51      3.711,407  40 

714,947  43 

4.426,154  83 

48,476,104  31 

1852     4,002.014  13 

2,320,640  14 

6,  322,  (554  27 

46,712,603  83 

1S53      3,666,905  24 

6,832,000  15    10,498,905  35 

54,577,061  74 

1854      3,074,078  33 

21,256.902  33    24,335,980  66 

75,473,119  08 

1855      2,315,996  25 

7,536,681  99      9,852,678  24 

66.164,775  96 

1856     1,9.54,752  34 

10.437,772  78    12.392.505  12 

72,726,341  57 

1857J     1,594,845  44 

4,647,182  17 

6,2-12,0-27  61 

71,274,587  37 

18581     1,652,774  23 

8,118.2!K!  M 

9,771,067  04 

82,062,186  74 

1859^     2,637,664  39    14,713.572  81  '•  17.351,2:37  20 

83.678,643  92 

I860!     3.144,(12()  91    13.900.392  13    17,045,013  07 

77,055,125  65 

1861      4,034,157  30 

18,815,984  1(5    22.850,141  46 

85,387,313  OH 

1862    13,190,3-21-  4r> 

9(5.006.9-22  09  109.287,246  54 

570.8-41,700  25 

1863    24,729,8-16  61  1S1.  086,635  07205.816.481  68 

895.796.630  (55 

1864    53,685.421  65  -130.1  97.114  0:MS:j..ss:>,r>:5r>  721,298.144.656  00 
1  QKX     w  oni-?  ir-)»o  net  r.nrr  or.-i  m-t    fto  1:0  1  -r^c;  (iX'.j  r,^  1  s^07  r,~-i  o.)i    nr» 

1865  77.397.712  00607,361,341  68684.758,953  681,897.671,224  09 

1866  133.067.711  69  620.3-21,72,5  (51  753,389,467  30  l,l-tl.07-2,(i(i(J  09 
1867143,781,591  911746,350,525  94890,132,117  85  1,093.079,655  27 


*  Actual  payments  on  the  public  debt,  but  not  carried  into  the  totals  because  of 
repayments  to  the  Treasury. 

N.  L.  JEFFRIES,  Register. 
TREASURY  DEPARTMENT,  REGISTER'S  OFFICE,  JVovcmocr  9, 1867. 


OUR   PUBLIC   DEBT.  389 

These  tables  show  the  wild  extravagance  of  the  Govern- 
msnt,  and  the  cause  of  our  enormous  taxes.  The  public  debt, 
ui  necessarily  doubled  by  the  resort  to  depreciated  paper,  calls  for 
interest  to  nearly  twice  the  amount  of  the  whole  expenses  for  any 
year  before  the  war  since  the  organization  of  the  Government. 
The  civil  list  alone  now  costs  more  than  the  whole  Government 
during  any  year  of  its  early  stages.  Not  one  step  is  taken  in 
Congress  to  diminish  these  enormous  expenditures.  Nearly  one- 
half  of  our  present  expenses  are  occasioned,  not  by  national 
necessity,  but  by  the  reckless  and  never-ending  efforts  of  the  Re 
publicans  to  retain  political  power  in  their  own  hands. 

We  call  upon  the  people  to  examine  these  tables,  and  to  learn 
vJiere  and  how  these  expenses  are  incurred,  and,  if  they  wish 
them  diminished,  to  secure  representatives  in  Congress  who  will 
attend  to  the  interests  of  their  constituents,  instead  of  making 
fie  nation  pay  for  keeping  the  Republican  party  in  power. 

139.— OUR  PUBLIC  DEBT. 

The  Constitution  authorizes  Congress  to  borrow  money  on  the 
credit  of  the  United  States,  and  to  lay  and  collect  taxes,  duties, 
imposts,  and  excises,  to  pay  the  debts  and  provide  for  the  common 
defence  and  general  welfare  of  the  United  States.  This  does  not 
authorize  taxing  the  people  to  sustain  Freedmen's  Bureaus  and 
armies  to  govern  people  in  States,  or  to  make  and  use  machinery 
"o  produce  political  effect,  which  we  now  see  in  the  Southern 
States.  But  we  have  now  a  debt  upon  us,  that  is  already  recog 
nized,  amounting  to  $2,757,689,571.43,  the  details  of  which  we 
give  below.  A  considerable  portion  of  this  vast  sum  was  unau 
thorized  by  the  Constitution,  but  cannot  now  be  separated  from 
the  honest  and  legal  portion.  The  evils  that  are  upon  us  we 
must  endure.  But  we  can  secure  ourselves  against  the  future  by 
taking  the  Government  from  the  hands  of  those  who  have  been 
unmindful  of  the  Constitution  and  regardless  of  their  pledges  of 
economy,  and  place  it  with  those  who  have  been  faithful  to  both, 
and  wise,  and  sagacious,  and  will  so  administer  it  as  to  make  it  a 
blessing  instead  of  a  burden  under  which  the  people  are  bending, 
staggering,  and  liable  to  be  crushed,  without  the  hope  of  possible 
relief. 


390  DEMOCEACY   IN   THE   UNITED    STATES. 

Statement  of  the  Public  Debt  on  November  1,  1867. 

Debt  bearing  coin  interest $1,778,110,991.80 

Debt  having  currency  interest 426,768,040.00 

Matured   debt    not    presented    for 

payment 18,237,538.83 

Debt  bearino-  no  interest 402,385,677.39 


Total  debt $2,625,502,848.02 

Money  in  the  Treasury 133,993,398.02 


Debt  unprovided  for $2,491,504,450.00 

The  unrecognized  debts,  which  must  be  eventually  admitted, 
will  add  very  largely  to  this  amount,  and  many  estimate  that  it 
will  nearly  double  it. 

The  money  in  the  Treasury  has  already  gone,  without  actually 
diminishing  the  public  debt,  in  paying  interest  and  meeting  new 
claims  under  appropriations  by  Congress.  The  legislative  author 
ity  is  daily  increasing  instead  of  diminishing  our  public  debt.  It 
keeps  in  the  field,  at  the  South,  five  armies  to  promote  the  interests 
of  the  Kepublican  party,  and  a  host  of  FreedmcnTs  Bureau  officers 
and  spies,  all  of  whom  are  worse  than  useless  for  any  honest  pur 
pose  under  the  Constitution  and  laws. 

Receipts  for  the  last  Fiscal  Year — June  30,  1867. 

Receipts  from  customs $176,417,810.88 

"  "      lands 1,163,575.76 

"  "      direct  tax 4,200,233.70 

"  "      internal  revenue 266,027,537.43 

"  "      miscellaneous  sources ..        42,824,852.50 


$40,634,010.27 

Expenditures  for  the  civil  service $51,110,027.27 

"              "  pensions  and  Indians.  25,579,083.48 

"              "  War  Department. .  ..  95,224,415.63 

"             "  Navy  Department...  31,034,011.04 
"             "  interest     on     public 

debt 143,781,591.91 


$346,729,129.33 


OUR    PUBLIC    DEBT.  391 

Loans  paid $746,350,525.94 

Receipts  from  loans 640,426,910.29 


Reduction  of  loans 8105,923,615.65 

Estimates  by  Treasury  Department  for  current  Year. 

Receipts  from  customs $145,000,000.00 

Internal  revenue 205,000,000.00 

Lands 1.000,000.00 

Miscellaneous 30,000,000.00 


$381,000,000.00 

Estimated  Expenditures. 

Civil  service $51,000,000.00 

Pensions  and  Indians 35,000,000.00 

War  Department,  including  $25,000,000 

for  bounties 120,000,000.00 

Navy  Department  36,000,000.00 

Interest  on  public  debt 130,000,000,00 

$372,000,000.00 

Leaving  an  estimated  surplus  over  expenditures  of  $9,000,000. 
If  there  should  be  an  annual  surplus  of  nine  millions  to  apply 
to  the  discharge  of  the  principal,  it  would  take  some  two  hun 
dred  years  to  pay  the  whole  acknowledged  debt.  But  al 
ready  the  Treasury  records  show  a  large  falling  off  of  the  esti 
mated  income,  and  a  very  considerable  increase  of  the  debt, 
while  our  expenses  are  increasing,  and  are  likely  to  continue 
to  do  so.  Let  us  compare  these  expenses  with  those  incur 
red  in  General  Jackson's  time:  "  Whole  expenses  in  1833  were 
$24,257,298.44,  while  the  estimated  expenses  for  1868  are 
$372,000,000,  being  over  fifteen  times  as  much,  and  at  a  time 
when  we  have  no  war  on  hand,  except  a  political  one.  Not 
withstanding  all  the  estimates  and  pretences  to  the  contrary,  our 
public  debt  is  increasing,  instead  of  being  diminished.  When 
will  this  enormous  debt  be  paid  ?  Honesty  and  good  faith  require 
us  to  pay  it,  just  as  honest  men  pay  their  debts.  But  the  signs 


392  DEMOCRACY   IN   THE   UNITED    STATES. 

indicate  that  it  is  not  the  intention  of  the  Republican  party  to 
pay.  Stevens,  Butler,  and  other  kindred  spirits  in  the  House. 
Sherman  and  others  in  the  Senate,  are  engaged,  with  their  politi 
cal  friends  in  various  States,  in  schemes  of  indirect  repudiation. 
It  is  to  be  done  a  little  at  a  time,  instead  of  by  a  bold  and  open 
movement,  not  subject  to  disguise.  They  fear  that  a  frank  and 
manly  step  would  be  promptly  condemned,  while  they  seek  to 
accomplish  the  result  by  a  less  odious  name,  and  in  a  deceptive 
form.  The  scheme  is  to  create  a  currency  more  worthless  than  the 
present,  and  to  give  it  the  same  name,  as  a  more  valuable  one, 
pronounced  as  good  as  gold  when  first  issued,  but  not  having  the 
funding  provisions,  and  to  compel  the  holders  of  Government 
bonds  to  receive  it  at  par.  They  propose  not  only  to  enforce  this 
inferior  currency  upon  those  who  sold  the  Government  green 
backs,  but  upon  all  holders  of  Government  bonds,  whether  issued 
upon  liquidated  debts  or  subsequently  bought  at  a  large  pre 
mium  in  the  market  without  knowing  upon  what  considerations 
such  bonds  were  issued.  These  demagogues  do  not  propose  any 
.time  or  mode  of  payment  of  the  currency  they  design  to  issue. 
It  is  doubtless  expected  that  this  currency  will  become  worthless, 
and  never  be  redeemed,  like  that  issued  during  the  War  of  the 
Revolution.  Should  this  course  be  pursued,  would  the  Govern 
ment,  under  any  future  exigency,  be  able  to  borrow  money  to 
meet  its  necessities  ?  Would  foreigners  lend  their  gold  and  sil 
ver,  or  would  our  own  citizens  yield  it  their  confidence,  or  trust 
again  to  its  good  faith  ? 

140.— A  NEW  DEPARTMENT  IN  THE  FEDERAL  GOVERNMENT. 

The  Constitution  provides  a  government  with  three  depart 
ments — legislative,  executive,  and  judicial.  The  powers  of  each 
are  distinctly  specified  in  the  Constitution,  each  supreme  in  its 
sphere,  but  not  superior  to  the  others.  Wrhen  either  assumes 
powers  not  conferred  upon  it,  its  acts  are  null  and  void,  and  bind 
nobody.  The  recent  attempt  of  the  legislative  branch  to  control 
the  other  two,  being  unauthorized  by  the  Constitution,  is  wholly 
null,  and  its  acts  are  void.  Within  the  last  few  years  there 
has  sprung  into  existence  a  new  and  powerful  department,  un- 


ETC.  303 

known  to  the  Constitution,  which  exercises  more  control  than 
cither  the  Executive  or  Judicial  Department,  if  not  more  than  all 
the  others  combined.  It  dictates  what  laws  shall  be  passed  or 
acts  performed  by  the  Legislative  Department,  and  what  powers 
may  be  exercised  by  the  other  departments.  It  acts,  but  the 
public  is  not  permitted  to  be  present  at  its  deliberations,  or  to  see 
a  record  of  its  proceedings.  It  controls  the  action  of  both  Houses 
of  Congress,  and  dictates  what  shall  and  what  shall  not  be  done. 
Its  meetings  are  frequent,  and  its  discussions  protracted,  and  often 
not  very  parliamentary  in  form.  Obedience  to  its  dictation  is  cn- 
ibrced  with  rigid  severity.  No  one  dares  to  question  its  authority. 
This  department  owes  no  allegiance  to  the  people,  nor  does  it 
admit  that  it  is  accountable  to  any  power  on  earth.  All  great 
questions  are  considered  and  settled  by  it  without  appeal  or  re 
view.  The  exact  part  taken  in  it  by  individuals  is  kept  secret, 
and  not  allowed  to  be  made  public.  It  dictates  the  action  of  com 
mittees,  determines  who  shall  be  impeached,  and  for  what ;  who 
shall  be  members  of  committees,  and  what  they  shall  do ;  who 
shall  lead  in  the  business  of  the  two  Houses ;  whether  the 
gag  law  shall  be  applied  or  not ;  and  how  long  members  may  be 
permitted  to  talk,  or  be  shut  off  from  talking.  In  fact,  it  is  the 
great  controlling  power  over  the  agents  sent  by  the  people  to 
transact  their  business.  It  invents  and  directs  the  tyranny  to  be 
practised  by  Congress.  Disobedience  is  punished  by  reading 
the  offender  out  of  the  Republican  party,  and  by  being  degraded 
before  the  people.  The  effort  of  Mr.  Raymond,  of  the  Times,  to 
act  independently  of  the  orders  of  this  new  department,  led  to  his 
being  traduced  and  abused,  and  his  reelection  to  Congress  for 
bidden.  As  far  as  it  can,  this  new  department  kills  off  all  who 
are  disobedient  to  its  commands.  The  catalogue  of  unconstitu 
tional  laws  now  upon  the  statute-book,  and  many  others  proposed 
for  adoption,  had  its  origin  in  this  secret  department.  Some 
times  it  is  composed  of  the  Republicans  of  both  Houses,  and  at 
others  of  one  House  alone,  depending  upon  the  subject-matter  in 
hand.  It  embraces  the  "  Union  Leagues,"  so  called,  and  all 
similar  associations,  under  whatever  name  they  may  act.  When 
in  session,  this  department,  however  constituted  or  organized,  iiu- 
17* 


394  DEMOCKACY    IN   THE    UOTTED    STATES. 

poses  the  strictest  secrecy  upon  all  Avho  are  present.  It  dare  not 
let  the  world  know  what  it  orders,  or  the  reasons  which  led  to 
its  adoption.  This,  being  outside  the  Constitution,  may  properly 
be  called  "  the  self-assumed  confederates  of  loyalty,"  or,  in  other 

WOrds,  THE    DEPARTMENT    OF    TYRANNY. 

141.— THE  SEDITION  LAWS  OF  1798  REVIVED. 

Congress  assumes  the  right  to  say  what  it  chooses  of  every 
person  in  or  out  of  office ;  to  appoint  committees,  and  send  for 
persons  and  papers ;  and  to  investigate  every  thing  said  and  done 
by  others.  It  heaps  abuse  upon  whoever  it  chooses,  calling 
them  thieves,  liars,  perjured  villains,  and  traitors.  There  is  no 
limit  to  its  accusations  against  those  who  do  not  agree  with 
it  politically.  It  questions  the  legality  and  good  faith  of 
the  acts  of 'others,  and  votes  money  to  have  its  charges  printed 
in  an  official  paper,  and  circulated  broadcast  over  the  country. 
This  it  assumes  to  be  lawful  and  right.  But  when  its  acts  are 
questioned,  or  its  opinions  criticised  by  others,  it  is  deemed  a 
high  offence.  Two  of  the  articles  of  impeachment  against  Pres 
ident  Johnson  are  based  upon  his  want  of  courtesy  toward  Con 
gress  in  his  speeches,  and  his  supposed  attempt  to  bring  it  into 
"  disgrace,  ridicule,  hatred,  contempt,  and  reproach,"  to  "  im 
pair  and  destroy  the  regard  and  respect "  of  the  people  ;  and  to 
"  excite  odium  and  resentment "  against  the  laws  which  Congress 
might  enact.  Long  extracts  from  speeches  made  by  the  Presi 
dent,  on  different  occasions,  are  set  out,  as  evidence  of  his  want  of 
respect  for  Congress ;  and  showing  that  he  had  doubts  concerning 
the  legality  of  its  acts  when  ten  States  were  unrepresented  in  Con 
gress;  and  that  he  deemed  many  of  its  laws  unconstitutional 
and  void.  The  principles  involved  in  these  charges  are  precisely 
those  of  the  Sedition  Law  of  1798,  under  which  men  were  in 
dicted,  convicted,  and  imprisoned  for  speaking  disrespectfully  of 
Federal  dignitaries.  The  House  calls  it  a  high  crime  and  misde 
meanor,  and  an  impeachable  offence,  for  the  President  to  speak  as 
freely  of  Congress  as  it  does  of  him.  This  principle,  if  allowed 
to  take  root,  and  control,  will  end  in  sealing  the  mouths  of  the 
people  concerning  the  acts  of  all  public  agents,  and  especially 


THE   SEDITION   LAWS   OF   1798   KEVIVED.  395 

those  composing  Congress.  There  is  no  law  declaring  the  ridicule 
or  censure  of  Congress,  or  denouncing  its  acts  illegal,  and  not 
binding  upon  the  people,  to  be  an  offence  or  misdemeanor  for 
which  the  President  or  any  one  else  can  be  indicted.  If  Mr. 
Johnson  can  be  convicted,  when  there  is  no  statute  offence,  by  a 
partisan  Senate,  the  same  rule  can  be  applied  to  every  man  in  the 
United  States  by  the  Federal  Courts.  All  can  be  punished, 
although  Congress  has  passed  no  law  upon  the  subject.  There  is 
quite  as  much  necessity  for  laws  protecting  other  branches  of  the 
Government  and  the  people  from  ridicule  and  abuse  by  Congress, 
as  for  the  protection  of  Congress.  The  Constitution  shields  the 
members  of  Congress  for  what  they  do  and  say,  but  there  is  no 
protection  for  others.  Hence  the  effort  to  suppress  free  speech — 
free  and  full  discussion — concerning  what  Congress  says  and  does. 
That  body  is  instituting  the  machinery  of  tyranny  to  prevent 
the  people  discussing  its  merits,  and  holding  it  to  a  strict  ac 
countability.  It  has  already  forbidden  the  courts  to  review  its 
laws,  so  as  to  declare  them  void  if  in  conflict  with  the  Constitu 
tion  ;  and  it  now  declares  it  an  impeachable  offence  to  deny 
their  validity,  and  to  discuss  the  merits  of  the  body.  Little 
liberty  is  left  to  the  citizen  if  this  new  rule  shall  be  sustained. 
Congress  has  already,  as  far  as  unconstitutional  laws  can  do  it, 
stripped  the  President  of  the  power  of  removing  Federal  officials, 
however  basely  they  may  act,  and  deprived  him  of  the  command 
of  the  army;  and  it  is  compelling  him  to  retain  in  his  Cabinet 
one  of  the  most  objectionable  men  ever  holding  such  a  position. 
Congress  is  fast  absorbing  all  the  powers  of  the  Executive  and 
Judicial  Departments.  The  tyranny  now  exercised  by  it  exceeds 
that  of  the  Alien  and  Sedition  Laws  of  1798,  which  overthrew 
the  party  enacting  them.  Congress  now,  in  effect,  says  it  is  a  high 
crime  or  misdemeanor  to  complain  of  wrongs,  however  flagrant. 
If  it  continues  its  aggressions  for  four  years  to  come,  as  it  has 
those  which  have  just  expired,  the  liberties  of  the  country  will 
be  swallowed  up,  and  we  shall  be  governed  exclusively  by  the  will 
of  Congress — by  an  unrestrained  legislative  tyranny,  to  complain 
of  which  will  be  deemed  criminal,  and  punished  accordingly,  if 
it  dares  order  it. 


396  DEMOCRACY   IN  THE   UNITED   STATES. 


142.— CONCLUSION. 

Our  space  has  not  permitted  an  extended  discussion  of  Dem 
ocratic  principles,  or  the  basis  upon  which  they  rest,  nor  fully  to 
develop  those  of  an  adversary  character.  We  have  done  little 
more  than  to  state  them,  and  give  a  limited  number  of  illustrations 
showing*  their  consequences — the  practical  action  naturally  flow 
ing  from  them.  These  principles  cannot  be  equally  effective  in 
promoting  the  happiness  of  mankind.  One  must  be  superior  to 
the  other,  or  both  would  be  of  equal  merit  and  value.  We  have 
endeavored  to  show  that  Democratic  principles  are  vastly  superior 
to  those  of  an  opposite  character  in  their  effects  upon  the  human 
family.  The  fruit  they  bear  furnishes  the  true  test  of  superiority. 
It  is  not  our  purpose  to  affirm  that  all  Democrats  always  do  right, 
and  their  adversaries  always  wrong.  The  reverse  may  some 
times  be  true.  But  we  do  affirm  that,  when  Democrats  faithfully 
and  understandingly  carry  out  the  principles  of  their  party,  they 
will  then  do  what  is  best  for  the  whole,  and  that,  when  the 
opposite  principles  are  followed  to  their  natural  results,  they  will 
inflict  evils  upon  them  greatly  diminishing  the  common  happiness. 
Democrats  may  err,  or  fail  to  follow  where  their  principles  lead  ; 
and,  when  they  do,  they  forget  their  duty,  and  wrong  triumphs. 
The  same  is  true  of  Christianity.  Anti-Democrats  may,  when 
not  following  where  their  own  principles  lead,  do  most  worthy 
acts.  When  such  things  occur  it  is  owing  to  surrounding  circum 
stances,  and  not  to  their  principles,  that  they  espouse  the  right. 
Such  exceptions  may  occur,  but  they  are  too  infrequent  to  impair 
a  general  rule. 

Our  own  history  proves  the  truth  of  our  theories.  Since  the 
organization  of  the  Democratic  party,  in  1800,  Democratic  prin 
ciples  have  triumphed  and  been  the  rule  of  action  for  fifty-two 
years,  and  anti-Democratic  only  sixteen.  Most  of  the  time  dur 
ing  these  sixteen  years  the  people  sustained  the  Democracy  against 
the  Administration  of  their  opponents.  No  nation  on  earth  has 
prospered  like  ours  when  the  Democrats  were  in  power.  The 
administrations  of  Jefferson,  Madison,  Monroe,  Jackson,  Van  Bu- 
rcn,  Polk,  Tierce,  and  Buchanan,  have  been  unparalleled  in  pros- 


CONCLUSION.  397 

pcrity  and  unequalled  in  promoting  happiness.  Mr.  John  Quincy 
Adams's  administration,  distinguished  for  his  effort  to  build  up 
internal  improvements  by  the  Federal  Government,  produced  no 
special  benefits  to  mankind.  Those  who  brought  Harrison  and 
Tyler  into  power  claim  no  special  merits  as  resulting  therefrom. 
Taylor  and  Fillmore,  though  respectable,  conferred  nothing  of  pe 
culiar  usefulness  upon  the  people.  Lincoln  gave  us  the  war,  our 
public  debt,  and  a  demoralized  country,  with  no  special  benefits. 
It  is  to  the  Democratic  administrations  alone  that  we  must  look 
for  our  growth  and  prosperity,  peace  and  happiness,  and  that  sim 
ply  by  giving  the  people  the  protection  of  the  Constitution  and 
laws,  and  allowing  them  to  pursue  their  industry  and  seek  happi 
ness  in  their  own  way.  Here  lies  the  secret  of  our  wonderful 
prosperity,  our  growth  and  progress,  which  astonish  the  world. 
The  prosperity  under  the  Adams,  Harrison,  Tyler,  and  Taylor- 
Fillmore  administrations,  as  far  as  it  existed,  was  the  result  of  let 
ting  the  people  alone,  leaving  them  to  work  out  their  own  pros 
perity  and  happiness,  and  not  the  fruit  of  anti-Democratic  prin 
ciples.  The  forcing  system,  compelling  the  people  to  follow 
where  others  direct,  has  never  succeeded  well  in  the  United 
States,  and  never  will.  The  people  are  wiser  than  their  public 
agents,  and  best  know  how  to  make  themselves  happy,  and  will 
do  so  if  the  laws  protect  them  and  they  are  let  alone. 

There  rests  upon  every  individual  two  great  duties  from  which 
he  cannot  rightfully  release  himself;  he  owes  them  to  his  country,  to 
his  kindred,  and  his  fellow-men.  The  one  is  to  watch  over  and 
participate  in  our  public  affairs,  and  use  all  lawful  and  reason 
able  exertions  to  secure  their  safe,  constitutional,  and  wise  man 
agement,  and  the  other  to  devote  the  residue  of  his  energies 
to  the  management  of  his  private  affairs  and  promote  their  pros 
perity,  to  the  end  that  he  may  be  personally  independent,  and  be 
able  to  supply  the  wants  of  those  dependent  upon  him,  and  also 
to  add  to  the  stock  of  accumulated  wealth  of  the  country,  so  that 
our  nation  may  command  that  standing  and  position  abroad  that 
will  command  universal  respect.  The  faithful  performance  of 
these  duties  are  leading  guaranties  in  favor  of  Democratic  prin 
ciples. 


398  DEMOCRACY    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

We  have  given  brief  sketches  of  leading  events  and  prominent 
officials  in  the  Federal  Government  and  of  New  York.  This  we 
have  endeavored  to  do  impartially  and  truthfully.  If  we  have 
erred,  it  has  been  unintentional.  To  politicians  we  have  assigned 
such  motives  as  their  acts,  in  our  opinion,  warrant,  and,  as  we  be 
lieve,  actuated  them.  "We  do  not  expect  universal  concurrence  in 
these  by  our  political  adversaries ;  but  that  an  impartial  jury,  from 
the  testimony,  would  arrive  at  the  same  conclusion  we  think  cer 
tain,  and  we  are  confident  history  will  confirm  our  impressions. 
If  we  are  wrong,  it  is  no  fault  of  ours,  but  is  imputable  to  those 
who  have  talked  and  acted  in  a  manner  leaving  no  possible 
grounds  for  a  different  conclusion.  If  they  were  not  chargeable 
with  the  intentions  and  motives  we  impute,  the  fault  was  theirs 
in  furnishing  false  indexes  to  their  purposes,  which  could  not  be 
made  to  mean  any  thing  else.  They  should  have  presented  the 
real  instead  of  a  false  face.  We  believe  they  did  exhibit  truly 
what  they  intended,  and  so  we  have  written,  and  have  drawn  the 
natural  conclusions.  It  is  their  fault,  and  not  ours,  if  we  have 
made  a  mistake. 

We  have  unhesitatingly  declared  laws  and  acts  to  be  in  viola 
tion  of  the  Constitution  when  we  believed  them  to  be  so.  For 
these  opinions  we  alone  are  responsible,  although  the  ablest  jurists 
of  the  Union  concur  with  us  in  asserting  most  of  them.  AA7e  be 
lieve,  from  full  consideration  of  the  facts,  that  since  the  Repub 
lican  party  came  into  power,  they  have  used  greater  exertions  in 
violating  than  in  sustaining  the  Constitution,  and  we  believe  the 
courts  will  so  determine  when  permitted  to  act. 

The  political  principles  put  forth  arc  those  which  we  believe 
have  the  fall  approbation  of  the  great  body  of  the  Democratic 
party,  if  not  of  every  member  of  it.  We  know  of  no  dissenters 
who  do  not,  in  fact,  belong  to  the  other  side. 

We  have  given  some  of  the  pending  issues  which  arc  to  be 
tried  by  the  people  next  fall,  and  upon  the  determination  of  which 
our  future  well-being  as  a  nation  depends.  If  determined  against 
the  Democracy,  the  clouds  of  adversity  will  shut  down  around  us, 
and  a  surging  chaos  and  a  night  of  despair  be  upon  us.  If  the 
people  are  true  to  themselves,  to  the  Constitution,  and  to  what 


CONCLUSION.  390 

is  due  to  future  generations,  they  will  be  decided  in  their  favor, 
and  days  of  clear  skies,  and  bright  sunshine,  and  prosperity,  will 
dawn  upon  and  enliven  us  for  long  years  to  come.  Hope,  the 
mother  of  much  happiness,  bids  us  be  cheerful,  for  success,  being 
deserved,  will  surely,  at  no  distant  day,  follow.  We  expect  it, 
but  it  will  not  come  without  proper  and  efficient  exertions.  We 
cannot  ask  a  blessing  upon  our  works  until  we  perform  them,  and 
then  we  may  fairly  expect  it. 

We  also  give  the  expenses  of  the  Federal  Government  for 
each  year  since  its  organization,  which  shows  its  former  economy 
and  present  extravagance.  We  also  call  the  attention  of  our 
readers  to  the  signs  of  the  times,  and  the  dangers  threatening  our 
rights  and  liberties. 

We  also  furnish  an  exhibit  of  the  Public  Debt,  and  show 
what  taxation  is  necessary  to  keep  down  the  interest.  It  is  ap 
parent  that*  without  a  diminution  of  our  expenses — a  thing  not 
expected  while  the  Republicans  are  in  power — this  debt  never 
can  be  paid.  Our  only  hope  rests  in  restoring  the  Government 
to  Democratic  hands,  disbanding  the  five  needless  Southern  ar 
mies,  and  bringing  the  Government  back  to  the  economy  of  former 
days.  The  Federal  Government  must  be  brought  down  to  the 
simple  machine  its  framers  contemplated,  or  our  enormous  debt 
can  never  be  extinguished  by  payment. 


APPENDIX. 


143.— THE  NATIONAL  tONSTITUTION. 

KNOWING  that  the  Constitution  is  not  accessible  to  most 
people,  we  give  it  entire,  as  it  now  exists.  We  advise  our  readers 
to  study  it  carefully,  and  to  reflect  thoroughly  upon  its  provisions, 
and  hold  their  public  agents  to  a  strict  accountability  under  it. 
It  is  the  sheet-anchor  of  their  safety. 


CONSTITUTION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

WE,  the  People  of  the  United  States,  in  order  to  form  a  more  perfect  union, 
establish  justice,  insure  domestic  tranquillity,  provide  for  the  common  de 
fence,  promote  the  general  welfare,  and  secure  the  blessings  of  liberty  to 
ourselves  and  our  posterity,  do  ordain  and  establish  this  CONSTITUTION  for 
the  United  States  of  America. 

ARTICLE  I. 

Section  1.  All  legislative  powers  herein  granted  shall  be  vested  in  a  Con 
gress  of  the  United  States,  which  shall  cousjst  of  a  Senate  and  Ilouse  of  Rep 
resentatives. 

Section  2.  The  House  of  Representatives  shall  he  composed  of  members 
chosen  every  second  year  by  the  people  of  the  several  States,  and  the  electors 
in  each  State  shall  have  the  qualifications  requisite  for  electors  of  the  most 
numerous  branch  of  the  State  Legislature. 

No  person  shall  be  a  Representative  who  shall  not  have  attained  to  the  age 
of  twenty-five  years,  and  been  seven  years  a  citizen  of  the  United  States,  and 
who  shall  not,  when  elected,  be  an  inhabitant  of  that  State  in  which  he  shall 
be  chosen. 

Representatives  and  direct  taxes  shall  be  apportioned  among  the  several 
States  which  may  be  included  within  this  Union,  according  to  their  respective 
numbers,  which  shall  be  determined  by  adding  to  the  whole  number  of  free 
persons,  including  those  bound  to  service  for  a  term  of  years,  and  excluding 
Indians  not  taxed,  three-fifths  of  all  other  persons.  The  actual  enumeration 
shall  bo  made  within  three  years  after  the  first  meeting  of  the  Congress  of 
the  United  States,  and  within  every  subsequent  term  of  ten  years,  in  such 


APPENDIX.  401 

manner  as  they  shall  by  law  direct,  The  number  of  Representatives  shall 
not  exceed  one  for  every  thirty  thousand,  but  each  State  shall  have  at  least 
one  Representative ;  and  until  such  enumeration  shall  be  made,  the  State  of 
New  Hampshire  shall  be  entitled  to  choo?e  three,  Massachusetts  eight,  Rhode 
sland  and  Providence  Plantations  one,  Connecticut  five,  New  York  six,  New 
Jersey  four,  Pennsylvania  eight,  Delaware  one,  Maryland  six,  Virginia  ten, 
North  Carolina  five,  South  Carolina  five,  and  Georgia  three. 

When  vacancies  happen  in  the  representation  from  any  State,  the  ex- 
ocutive  authority  thereof  shall  issue  writs  of  election  to  fill  such  vacan 
cies. 

The  House  of  Representatives  shall  choose  their  Speaker  and  other  offi- 
3ers ;  and  shall  have  the  sole  power  of  impeachment. 

Section  3.  The  Senate  of  the  United  States  shall  be  composed  of  two  Sen 
ators  from  each  State,  chosen  by  the  Legislature  thereof,  for  six  years ;  and 
each  Senator  shall  have  one  vote. 

Immediately  after  they  shall  be  assembled  in  consequence  of  the  first 
election,  they  shall  be  divided  as  equally  as  may  be  into  three  classes.  The 
scats  of  the  Senators  of  the  first  class  shall  be  vacated  at  the  expiration  of 
the  second  year,  of  the  second  class  at  the  expiration  of  the  fourth  year,  and 
of  the  third  class  at  the  expiration  of  the  sixth  year,  so  that  one-third  may 
be  chosen  every  second  year ;  and  if  vacancies  happen  by  resignation,  or 
otherwise,  during  the  recess  of  the  Legislature  of  any  State,  the  executive 
thereof  may  make  temporary  appointments  until  the  next  meeting  of  the 
Legislature,  which  shall  then  fill  such  vacancies. 

No  person  shall  be  a  Senator  who  shall  not  have  attained  to  the  age  of 
thirty  years,  and  been  nine  years  a  citizen  of  the  United  States,  and  who  shall 
not,  when  elected,  be  an  inhabitant  of  that  State  for  which  he  shall  be  chosen. 

The  Vice-President  of  the  United  States  shall  be  president  of  the  Senate, 
but  shall  have  no  vote,  unless  they  be  equally  divided. 

Tht  Senate  shall  choose  their  other  officers,  and  also  a  president  pro  tem- 
pore,  in  the  absence  of  the  Vice-President,  or  when  he  shall  exercise  the  office 
of  President  of  the  United  States. 

The  Senate  shall  have  the  sole  power  to  try  all  impeachments ;  when 
sitting  for  that  purpose,  they  shall  be  on  oath  or  affirmation.  When  the 
President  of  the  United  States  is  tried,  the  Chief  Justice  shall  preside ;  and  no 
person  shall  be  convicted  without  the  concurrence  of  two-thirds  of  the  mem 
bers  present. 

Judgment  in  cases  of  impeachment  shall  not  extend  further  than  to  re 
moval  from  office,  and  disqualification  to  hold  and  enjoy  any  office  of  honor, 
trust,  or  profit  under  the  United  States;  but  the  party  convicted  shall  never 
theless  be  liable  and  subject  to  indictment,  trial,  judgment,  and  punishment, 
according  to  law. 

Section  4.  The  times,  places,  and  manner  of  holding  elections  for  Senators 
and  Representatives,  shall  be  prescribed  in  each  State  by  the  Legislature 
thereof;  but  the  Congress  may  at  any  time,  by  law,  make  or  alter  such  regu 
lations,  except  as  to  the  places  of  choosing  Senators. 

The  Congress  shall  assemble  at  least  once  in  every  year,  and  such  meeting 
shall  be  on  the  first  Monday  in  December,  unless  they  shall,  by  law,  appoint  a 
different  day. 

Section  5.  Each  House  shall  be  the  judge  of  the  elections,  returns,  and 
qualifications  of  its  own  members,  and  a  majority  of  each  shall  constitute  a 
quorum  to  do  business ;  but  a  smaller  number  may  adjourn  from  day  to  day, 
and  may  be  authorized  to  compel  the  attendance  of  absent  members,  in  such 
manner,  and  under  such  penalties,  as  each  House  may  provide. 


402  APPENDIX. 

Each  House  may  determine  the  rules  of  its  proceedings,  punish  its  mem 
bers  for  disorderly  behavior,  and,  with  the  concurrence  of  two-thirds,  expel 
a  member. 

Each  House  shall  keep  a  journal  of  its  proceedings,  and  from  time  to  time 
publish  the  same,  excepting  such  parts  as  may  in  their  judgment  require 
secrecy,  and  the  yeas  and  nays  of  the  members  of  either  House  ou  any  ques 
tion  shall,  at  the  desire  of  one-fifth  of  those  present,  be  entered  on  the  jour 
nal. 

Neither  House,  during  the  session  of  Congress,  shall,  without  the  consent 
of  the  other,  adjourn  for  more  than  three  days,  nor  to  any  other  place  than 
that  in  which  the  two  Houses  shall  be  sitting. 

Section  6.  The  Senators  and  liepresentatives  shall  receive  a  compensation 
for  their  services,  to  be  ascertained  by  law,  and  paid  out  of  the  Treasury  of 
the  United  States.  They  shall  in  ail  cases,  except  treason,  felony,  and  breach 
of  the  peace,  be  privileged  from  arrest  during  their  attendance  at  the  session 
of  their  respective  Houses,  and  in  going  to  and  returning  from  the  same ;  and 
for  any  speech  or  debate  in  either  House,  they  shall  not  be  questioned  in  any 
other  place. 

No  Senator  or  Representative  shall,  during  the  time  for  which  he  was 
elected,  be  appointed  to  any  civil  office  under  the  authority  of  the  United 
States,  which  shall  have  been  created,  or  the  emoluments  whereof  shall  have 
been  increased  during  such  time;  and  no  person  holding  any  office  under  the 
United  States,  shall  be  a  member  of  either  House  during  his  continuance  in 
office. 

Section  7.  All  bills  for  raising  revenue  shall  originate  in  the  House  of 
Representatives ;  but  the  Senate  may  propose  or  concur  with  amendments  as 
on  other  bills. 

Every  bill  which  shall  have  passed  the  House  of  Representatives  and  the 
Senate,  shall,  before  it  become  a  law,  be  presented  to  the  President  of  the 
United  States ;  if  he  approve  he  shall  sign  it,  but  if  not,  he  shall  return  it, 
with  his  objections,  to  that  House  in  which  it  shall  have  originated,  who  shall 
enter  the  objections  at  large  on  their  journal,  and  proceed  to  reconsider  it. 
If,  after  such  reconsideration,  two-thirds  of  that  House  shall  agree  to  pass  the 
bill,  it  shall  be  sent,  together  with  the  objections,  to  the  other  House,  by  which 
it  shall  likewise  be  reconsidered,  and  if  approved  by  two-thirds  of  that  House, 
it  shall  become  a  la\v.  But  in  all  such  cases  the  votes  of  both  Houses  shall 
be  determined  by  yeas  and  nays,  and  the  names  of  the  persons  voting  for  and 
against  the  bill  shall  be  entered  on  the  journal  of  each  House  respectively.  If 
any  bill  shall  not  be  returned  by  the  President  within  ten  days  (Sunday  ex- 
cepted)  after  it  shall  have  been  presented  to  him,  the  same  shall  be  a  law,  in 
like  manner  as  if  he  had  signed  it,  unless  the  Congress  by  their  adjournment 
prevent  its  return,  in  which  case  it  shall  not  be  a  law. 

Every  order,  resolution,  or  vote  to  which  the  concurrence  of  the  Senate 
and  House  of  Representatives  may  be  necessary  (except  on  a  question  of 
adjournment)  shall  be  presented  to  the  President  of  the  United  States  ;  and 
before  the  same  shall  take  effect,  shall  be  approved  by  him,  or,  being  disap 
proved  by  him,  shall  be  repassed  by  two-thirds  of  the  Senate  and  House  of 
Representatives,  according  to  the  rules  and  limitations  prescribed  in  the  case 
of  a  bill. 

Section  8.  The  Congress  shall  have  power  to  lay  and  collect  taxes,  duties, 
imposts,  and  excises,  to  pay  the  debts  and  provide  for  the  common  defence 
and  general  welfare  of  the  United  States ;  but  all  duties,  imposts,  and  excises 
shall  be  uniform  throughout  the  United  States ; 

To  borrow  money  on  the  credit  of  the  United  States ; 


APPENDIX.  4:03 

To  regulate  commerce  with  foreign  nations,  and  among  the  several  States, 
and  with  the  Indian  tribes; 

To  establish  a  uniform  rule  of  naturalization,  and  uniform  laws  on  the 
subject  of  bankruptcies  throughout  the  United  States; 

To  coin  money,  regulate  the  value  thereof,  and  of  foreign  coin,  and  fix  the 
standard  of  weights  and  measures; 

To  provide  for  the  punishment  of  counterfeiting  the  securities  and  current 
coin  cf  the  United  States  ; 

To  establish  post-offices  and  post-roads ; 

To  promote  the  progress  of  science  and  useful  arts,  by  securing  for  limited 
times,  to  authors  and  inventors,  the  exclusive  right  to  their  respective  writings 
and  discoveries ; 

To  constitute  tribunals  inferior  to  the  Supreme  Court ; 

To  define  and  punish  piracies  and  felonies  committed  on  the  high-seas, 
and  offences  against  the  laws  of  nations; 

To  declare  war,  grant  letters  of  marque  and  reprisal,  and  make  rules  con 
cerning  captures  on  land  and  water; 

To  raise  and  support  armies,  but  no  appropriation  of  money  to  that  use 
shall  be  for  a  longer  term  than  two  years ; 

To  provide  and  maintain  a  navy ; 

To  make  rules  for  the  government  and  regulation  of  the  land  and  naval 
forces ; 

To  provide  for  calling  forth  the  militia  to  execute  the  laws  of  the  Union, 
suppress  insurrections,  and  repel  invasions  ; 

To  provide  for  organizing,  arming,  and  disciplining  the  militia,  and  for 
governing  such  part  of  them  as  may  be  employed  in  the  service  of  the  United 
States,  reserving  to  the  States  respectively,  the  appointment  of  the  officers, 
and  the  authority  of  training  the  militia  according  to  the  discipline  prescribed 
by  Congress ; 

To  exercise  exclusive  legislation  in  all  cases  whatsoever,  over  such  dis 
trict  (not  exceeding  ten  miles  square)  as  may,  by  cession  of  particular  States, 
and  the  acceptance  of  Congress,  become  the  seat  of  the  Government  of  the 
United  States,  and  to  exercise  like  authority  over  all  places  purchased  by  the 
consent  of  the  Legislature  of  the  State  in  which  the  same  shall  be,  for  the  erec 
tion  of  forts,  magazines,  arsenals,  dockyards,  and  other  needful  buildings ; — 
and 

To  make  all  laws  which  shall  be  necessary  and  proper  for  carrying  into 
execution  the  foregoing  powers,  and  all  other  powers  vested  by  this  Constitu 
tion  in  the  Government  of  the  United  States,  or  in  any  department  or  officer 
thereof. 

Section  9.  The  migration  or  importation  of  such  persons  as  any  of  the 
States  now  existing  shall  think  proper  to  admit,  shall  not  be  prohibited  by 
the  Congress  prior  to  the  year  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  eight,  but  a 
tax  or  duty  may  be  imposed  on  such  importation,  not  exceeding  ten  dollars 
for  each  person. 

The  privilege  of  the  writ  of  habeas  corpus  shall  not  be  suspended,  unless 
when  in  cases  of  rebellion  or  invasion  the  public  safety  may  require  it. 

No  bill  of  attainder  or  ex  post  facto  law  shall  be  passed. 

No  capitation,  or  other  direct  tax  shall  be  laid,  unless  in  proportion  to  the 
census  or  enumeration  hereinbefore  directed  to  be  taken. 

No  tax  or  duty  shall  be  laid  on  articles  exported  from  any  State. 

No  preference  shall  be  given  by  any  regulation  of  commerce  or  revenue  to 
the  ports  of  one  State  over  those  of  another ;  nor  shall  vessels  bound  to  or 
from,  one  State,  be  obliged  to  enter,  clear,  or  pay  duties  in  another. 


404:  APPENDIX. 

No  raouey  shall  be  drawn  from  the  Treasury,  but  in  consequence  of  appro 
priations  made  by  law ;  and  a  regular  statement  and  account  of  the  receipts 
and  expenditures  of  all  public  money  shall  be  published  from  time  to  time. 

No  title  of  nobility  shall  be  granted  by  the  United  States ;  and  no  person 
holding  any  office  of  profit  or  trust  under  them,  shall,  without  the  consent  of 
the  Congress,  accept  of  any  present,  emolument,  office,  or  title,  of  any  kind 
whatever,  from  any  king,  prince,  or  foreign  state. 

Section  10.  No  State  shall  enter  into  any  treaty,  alliance,  or  confederation, 
grant  letters  of  marque  and  reprisal ;  coin  money ;  emit  bills  of  credit ;  make 
any  thing  but  gold  and  silver  coin  a  tender  in  payment  of  debts ;  pass  any 
bill  of  attainder,  ex  post  facto  law,  or  law  impairing  the  obligation  of  contracts, 
or  grant  any  title  of  nobility. 

No  State  shall,  without  the  consent  of  the  Congress,  lay  any  impost  or 
duties  on  imports  or  exports,  except  what  may  be  absolutely  necessary  for 
executing  its  inspection  laws ;  and  the  net  produce  of  all  duties  and  imposts, 
laid  by  any  State  on  imports  or  exports,  shall  be  for  the  use  of  the  Treasury 
of  the  United  States ;  and  all  such  laws  shall  be  subject  to  the  revision  and 
control  of  the  Congress. 

No  State  shall,  without  the  consent  of  Congress,  lay  any  duty  of  tonnage, 
keep  troops  or  ships-of-war  in  time  of  peace,  enter  into  any  agreement  or  com 
pact  with  another  State,  or  with  a  foreign  power,  or  engage  in  wai\  unless  ac 
tually  invaded,  or  in  such  imminent  danger  as  will  not  admit  of  delay. 

ARTICLE  II. 

Section  1.  The  executive  power  shall  be  vested  in  a  President  of  the  Uni 
ted  States  of  America.  He  shall  hold  his  office  during  the  term  of  four  years, 
and,  together  with  the  Vice-President,  chosen  for  the  same  term,  be  elected 
as  follows : 

Each  State  shall  appoint,  in  such  manner  as  the  Legislature  thereof  may 
direct,  a  number  of  electors,  equal  to  the  whole  number  of  Senators  and  Repre 
sentatives  to  which  the  State  may  be  entitled  in  the  Congress ;  but  no  Senator 
or  Representative,  or  person  holding  an  office  of  trust  or  profit  under  the  Uni 
ted  States,  shall  be  appointed  an  elector. 

[The  electors  shall  meet  in  their  respective  States,  and  vote  by  ballot  for 
two  persons,  of  whom  one  at  least  shall  not  be  an  inhabitant  of  the  same  State 
with  themselves.  And  they  shall  make  a  list  of  all  the  persons  voted  for,  and 
of  the  number  of  votes  for  each  ;  which  list  they  shall  sign  and  certify,  and 
transmit  sealed  to  the  seat  of  the  Government  of  the  United  States,  directed 
to  the  president  of  the  Senate.  The  president  of  the  Senate  shall,  in  the  pres 
ence  of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives,  open  all  the  certificates,  and 
the  votes  shall  then  be  counted.  The  person  having  the  greatest  number  of 
votes  shall  be  the  President,  if  such  number  be  a  majority  of  the  whole  num 
ber  of  electors  appointed ;  and  if  there  be  more  than  one  who  have  such  ma 
jority  and  have  an  equal  number  of  votes,  then  the  House  of  Representatives 
shall  immediately  choose  by  ballot,  one  of  them  for  President ;  and  if  no  per 
son  have  a  majority,  then  from  the  five  highest  on  the  list,  the  said  House 
shall  in  like  manner  choose  the  President.  But  in  choosing  the  President, 
the  votes  shall  be  taken  by  States,  the  representation  from  each  State  having 
one  vote ;  a  quorum  for  this  purpose  shall  consist  of  a  member  or  members 
from  two-thirds  of  the  States,  and  a  majority  of  all  the  States  shall  be  neces 
sary  to  a  choice.  In  every  case,  after  the  choice  of  the  President,  the  person 
having  the  greatest  number  of  votes  of  the  electors  shall  be  the  Tice-Prcsi- 
dcnt.  But  if  there  should  remain  two  or  more  who  have  equal  votes,  the  Sen 
ate  shall  choose  from  them  by  ballot  the  Vice-Prcsident.] 


APPENDIX.  405 

The  Congress  may  determine  the  time  of  choosing  the  electors,  and  the 
t'.ay  on  which  they  shall  give  their  votes ;  which  day  shall  be  the  same  throu"h- 
out  the  United  States. 

No  person,  except  a  natural-born  citizen,  or  a  citizen  of  the  United  States, 
jvt  the  time  of  the  adoption  of  this  Constitution,  shall  be  eligible  to  the  office 
of  President ;  neither  shall  any  person  be  eligible  to  that  office  who  shall  not 
have  attained  to  the  age  of  thirty-five  years,  and  been  fourteen  years  resident 
within  the  United  States. 

In  case  of  the  removal  of  the  President  from  office,  or  of  his  death,  resig 
nation,  or  inability  to  discharge  the  powers  and  duties  of  the  said  office,  the 
}!ame  shall  devolve  on  the  Vice-President,  and  the  Congress  may  by  law  pro 
vide  for  the  case  of  removal,  death,  resignation,  or  inability,  both  of  the  Presi 
dent  and  Vice-Presidcnt,  declaring  what  officer  shall  then  act  as  President, 
md  such  officer  shall  act  accordingly,  until  the  disability  be  removed,  or  a 
President  shall  be  elected. 

The  President  shall,  at  stated  times,  receive  for  his  services  a  compensa 
tion,  Avhich  shall  neither  be  increased  nor  diminished  during  the  period  for 
which  he  shall  have  been  elected,  and  he  shall  not  receive  within  that  period 
any  other  emolument  from  the  United  States,  or  any  of  them. 

Before  he  enter  on  the  execution  of  his  office,  he  shall  take  the  following 
oath  or  affirmation :  "  I  do  solemnly  swear  (or  affirm)  that  I  will  faithfully 
execute  the  office  of  President  of  the  United  States,  and  will,  to  the  best 
of  my  ability,  preserve,  protect,  and  defend  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States. 

Section  2.  The  President  shall  be  Commander-in-Chief  of  the  Army  and 
Navy  of  the  United  States,  and  of  the  militia  of  the  several  States,  when 
called  into  the  actual  service  of  the  United  States  ;  he  may  require  the  opin 
ion,  in  writing,  of  the  principal  officer  in  each  of  the  executive  departments, 
upon  any  subject  relating  to  the  duties  of  their  respective  offices,  and  he  shall 
have  power  to  grant  reprieves  and  pardons  for  offences  against  the  United 
States,  except  in  cases  of  impeachment. 

He  shall  have  power,  by  and  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  Senate,  to 
make  treaties,  provided  two-thirds  of  the  Senators  present  concur ;  and  he 
shall  nominate,  and  by  and  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  Senate,  shall 
appoint  ambassadors,  other  public  ministers  and  consuls,  judges  of  the  Su 
preme  Court,  and  all  other  officers  of  the  United  States,  whose  appointments 
are  not  herein  otherwise  provided  for,  and  which  shall  be  established  by  law ; 
but  the  Congress  may  by  law  vest  the  appointment  of  such  inferior  officers, 
as  they  think  proper,  in  the  President  alone,  in  the  courts  of  law,  or  in  the 
heads  of  departments. 

The  President  shall  have  power  to  fill  up  all  vacancies  that  may  happen 
during  the  recess  of  the  Senate,  by  granting  commissions  which  shall  expire 
at  the  end  of  their  next  session. 

Section  3.  He  shall,  from  time  to  time,  give  to  the  Congress  information 
of  the  state  of  the  Union,  and  recommend  to  their  consideration  such  meas 
ures  as  he  shall  judge  necessary  and  expedient ;  he  may,  on  extraordinary  oc 
casions,  convene  both  Houses,  or  either  of  them,  and  in  case  of  disagreement 
between  them,  with  respect  to  the  time  of  adjournment,  he  may  adjourn  them 
to  such  time  as  he  shall  think  proper ;  he  shall  receive  ambassadors  and  other 
public  ministers  ;  he  shall  take  care  that  the  laws  be  faithfully  executed,  and 
shall  commission  all  the  officers  of  the  United  States. 

Section  4.  The  President,  Vice-Prcsident,  and  all  civil  officers  of  the  Uni 
ted  States,  shall  be  removed  from  office  on  impeachment  for,  and  conviction 
of,  treason,  bribery,  or  other  high  crimes  and  misdemeanors. 


406  APPENDIX. 


ARTICLE  III. 

Section  1.  The  judicial  power  of  the  United  States  shall  be  rested  in  one 
Supreme  Court,  and  in  such  inferior  courts  as  the  Congress  may  from  time  to 
time  ordain  and  establish.  The  judges,  both  of  the  Supreme  and  inferior 
courts,  shall  hold  their  offices  during  good  behavior,  and  shall,  at  stated 
times,  receive  for  their  services,  a  compensation,  which  shall  not  be  dimin 
ished  during  their  continuance  in  office. 

Section  2.  The  judicial  power  shall  extend  to  all  cases,  in  law  and  equity, 
arising  under  this  Constitution,  the  laws  of  the  United  States,  and  treaties 
made,  or  which  shall  be  made,  under  their  authority ;  to  all  cases  affect 
ing  ambassadors,  other  public  ministers  and  consuls  ;  to  all  cases  of  admi 
ralty  and  maritime  jurisdiction;  to  controversies  to  which  the  United  States 
shall  be  a  party ;  to  controversies  between  two  or  more  States ;  between  a 
State  and  citizens  of  another  State ;  between  citizens  of  different  States ;  be 
tween  citizens  of  the  same  State  claiming  lands  under  grants  of  different 
States,  and  between  a  State,  or  the  citizens  thereof,  and  foreign  States,  citi 
zens,  or  subjects. 

In  all  cases  affecting  ambassadors,  other  public  ministers  and  consuls, 
and  those  in  which  a  State  shall  be  party,  the  Supreme  Court  shall  have  origi 
nal  jurisdiction.  In  all  the  other  cases  before-mentioned,  the  Supreme  Court 
shall  have  appellate  jurisdiction,  both  as  to  law  and  fact,  with  such  excep 
tions,  and  under  such  regulations  as  the  Congress  shall  make. 

The  trial  of  all  crimes,  except  in  cases  of  impeachment,  shall  be  by  jury  ; 
and  such  trial  shall  be  held  in  the  State  where  the  said  crimes  shall  have  been 
committed  ;  but  when  not  committed  within  any  State,  the  trial  shall  be  at 
such  place  or  places  as  the  Congress  may  by  law  have  directed. 

Section  3.  Treason  against  the  United  States,  shall  consist  only  in  levying 
war  against  them,  or  in  adhering  to  their  enemies,  giving  them  aid  and  com 
fort. 

No  person  shall  be  convicted  of  treason  unless  on  the  testimony  of  two 
witnesses  to  the  same  overt  act,  or  on  confession  in  open  court. 

The  Congress  shall  have  power  to  declare  the  punishment  of  treason,  but 
no  attainder  of  treason  shall  work  corruption  of  blood,  or  forfeiture  except 
during  the  life  of  the  person  attainted. 

ARTICLE  IV. 

Section  I.  Full  faith  and  credit  shall  be  given  in  each  State  to  the  public 
acts,  records,  and  judicial  proceedings  of  every  other  State.  And  the  Con 
gress  may  by  general  laws  prescribe  the  manner  in  which  such  acts,  records, 
and  proceedings  shall  be  proved,  and  the  effect  thereof. 

/Section.  2.  The  citizens  of  each  State  shall  be  entitled  to  all  privileges  and 
immunities  of  citizens  in  the  several  States. 

A  person  charged  in  any  State  with  treason,  felony,  or  other  crime,  who 
shall  flee  from  justice,  and  be  found  in  another  State,  shall,  on  demand  of  the 
Executive  authority  of  the  State  from  which  he  fled,  be  delivered  up,  to  be  re 
moved  to  the  State  having  jurisdiction  of  the  crime. 

No  person  held  to  service  or  labor  in  one  State,  under  the  laws  thereof, 
escaping  into  another,  shall,  in  consequence  of  any  law  or  regulation  therein, 
be  discharged  from  such  service  or  labor,  but  shall  be  delivered  up  on  claim 
of  the  party  to  whom  such  service  or  labor  may  be  due. 

Section  3.  New  States  may  be  admitted  by  the  Congress  into  this  Union  ; 
but  no  new  State  shall  be  formed  or  erected  within  the  jurisdiction  of 


APPENDIX.  407 

any  other  State ;  nor  any  State  be  formed  by  the  junction  of  two  or  more 
States,  without  the  consent  of  the  Legislatures  of  the  States  concerned  as  well 
as  of  the  Congress. 

The  Congress  shall  have  power  to  dispose  of  and  make  all  needful  rules 
and  regulations  respecting  the  territory  or  other  property  belonging  to  the 
United  States ;  and  nothing  in  this  Constitution  shall  be  so  construed  as  to 
prejudice  any  claims  of  the  United  States,  or  of  any  particular  State. 

^Section  4.  The  United  States  shall  guarantee  to  every  State  in  this  Union 
i  republican  form  of  government,  and  shall  protect  each  of  them  against  in- 
rasion,  and,  on  application  of  the  Legislature,  or  of  the  Executive  (when  the 
Legislature  cannot  be  convened),  against  domestic  violence. 

ARTICLE  V. 

The  Congress,  whenever  two-thirds  of  both  Houses  shall  deem  it  neces 
sary,  shall  propose  amendments  to  this  Constitution,  or,  on  the  application  of 
the  Legislatures  of  two-thirds  of  the  several  States,  shall  call  a  convention  for 
proposing  amendments,  which,  in  either  case,  shall  be  valid  to  all  intents  and 
purposes,  as  part  of  this  Constitution,  when  ratified  by  the  Legislatures  of 
three -fourths  of  the  several  States,  or  by  conventions  in  three-fdurths  thereof, 
as  the  one  or  the  other  mode  of  ratification  may  be  proposed  by  the  Con 
gress,  provided  that  no  amendment  which  may  be  made  prior  to  the  year  one 
thousand  eight  hundred  and  eight  shall  in  any  manner  affect  the  first  and 
fourth  clauses  in  the  ninth  section  of  the  first  article ;  and  that  no  State, 
without  its  consent,  shall  be  deprived  of  its  equal  suffrage  in  the  Senate. 

ARTICLE  VI. 

All  debts  contracted  and  engagements  entered  into,  before  the  adoption 
of  this  Constitution,  shall  be  as  valid  against  the  United  States  under  this 
Constitution  as  under  the  Confederation. 

This  Constitution,  and  the  laws  of  the  United  States  which  shall  be  made 
in  pursuance  thereof,  and  all  treaties  made,  or  which  shall  be  made,  under 
the  authority  of  the  United  States,  shall  be  the  supreme  law  of  the  land  ;  and 
the  judges  in  every  State  shall  be  bound  thereby,  any  thing  in  the  constitution 
or  laws  of  any  State  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding. 

The  Senators  and  Representatives  before-mentioned,  and  the  members  of 
the  several  State  Legislatures,  and  all  executive  and  judicial  officers,  both  of 
the  United  States  and  of  the  several  States,  shall  be  bound  by  oath  or  affirma 
tion,  to  support  this  Constitution,  but  no  religious  test  shall  be  ever  required 
as  a  qualification  to  any  office  or  public  trust  under  the  United  States. 

ARTICLE  VII. 

The  ratification  of  the  conventions  of  nine  States  shall  be  sufficient  for 
the  establishment  of  this  Constitution  between  the  States  so  ratifying  the 
same. 

Done  in  convention  by  the  xmanimous  consent  of  the  States  present,  the 
seventeenth  day  of  September,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand 
seven  hundred  and  eighty-seven,  and  of  the  Independence  of  the  United 
States  of  America  the  twelfth.  In  witness  whereof  we  have  hereunto 
subscribed  our  names. 

GEORGE  WASHINGTON, 
President,  and  Deputy  from  Virginia. 


408 


APPENDIX. 


NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 

John  Langdon, 
Nicholas  Gilman. 


MASSACHUSETTS. 

Nathaniel  Gorham, 
Rufus  Kin";. 


CONNECTICUT. 

William  Samuel  Johnson, 
Roger  Sherman. 

NEW    YORK. 

Alexander  Hamilton. 

NEW    JERSEY. 

William  Livingston, 
David  Brearley, 
William  Paterson, 
Jonathan  Dayton. 


PENNSYLVANIA. 

Benjamin  Franklin, 
Thomas  Miffiin, 
Robert  Morris, 
George  Clymer, 
Thomas  Fitzsimons, 
Jared  Ingersoll, 
James  Wilson, 
Gouverneur  Morris. 

DELAWARE. 

George  Read, 
Gunning  Bedford,  Jr., 
John  Dickinson, 
Richard  Bassett, 
Jacob  Broome. 

MARYLAND. 

James  McHenry, 
Daniel  (of  St. "Thomas) 

Jenifer, 
Daniel  Carroll. 


VIRGINIA. 

John  Blair, 
James  Madison,  Jr. 

NORTH   CAROLINA. 

William  Blount, 
Richard  Dobbs  Spaight, 
Hugh  Williamson. 

SOUTH    CAROLINA. 

John  Rutleclge, 
Charles  C.  Pinckney, 
Charles  Pinckney, 
Pierce  Butler. 

GEORGIA. 

William  Few, 
Abraham  Baldwin. 


Attest: 


WILLIAM  JACKSON,  Secretary. 


AMENDMENTS 

TO  THE  CONSTITUTION  OF  THE  UNITED   STATES,  RATIFIED  ACCORDING    TO   THE   PRO 
VISIONS  OF  THE  FIFTH  ARTICLE  OF  THE  FOREGOING  CONSTITUTION. 

ARTICLE  THE  FIRST.  Congress  shall  make  no  law  respecting  an  establish 
ment  of  religion,  or  prohibiting  the  free  exercise  thereof ;  or  abridging  the 
freedom  of  speech,  or  of  the  press ;  or  the  right  of  the  people  peaceably  to 
assemble,  and  to  petition  the  Government  for  redress  of  grievances. 

ARTICLE  THE  SECOND.  A  well-regulated  militia,  being  necessary  to  the 
security  of  a  free  State,  the  right  of  the  people  to  keep  and  bear  arms  shall 
not  be  infringed. 

ARTICLE  THE  THIRD.  No  soldier  shall,  in  time  of  peace,  be  quartered  in 
any  house,  without  the  consent  of  the  owner,  nor  in  time  of  war,  but  in  a 
manner  to  be  prescribed  by  law. 

ARTICLE  THE  FOURTH.  The  right  of  the  people  to  be  secure  in  their  per 
sons,  houses,  papers,  and  effects,  against  unreasonable  searches  and  seizures, 
shall  not  be  violated,  and  no  warrants  shall  issue,  but  upon  probable  cause, 
supported  by  oath  or  affirmation,  and  particularly  describing  the  place  to  be 
searched,  and  the  persons  or  things  to  be  seized. 

ARTICLE  THE  FIFTH.  No  person  shall  be  held  to  answer  for  a  capital,  or 
otherwise  infamous  crime,  unless  on  a  presentment  or  indictment  of  a  grand 
jury,  except  in  cases  arising  in  the  land  or  naval  forces,  or  in  the  militia, 
when  in  actual  service,  in  time  of  war  and  public  danger ;  nor  shall  any 
person  be  subject,  for  the  same  offence,  to  be  twice  put  in  jeopardy  of  life  or 
limb ;  nor  shall  be  compelled  in  any  criminal  case  to  be  a  witness  against 
himself,  nor  to  be  deprived  of  life,  liberty,  or  property,  without  due  process 
of  law ;  nor  shall  private  property  be  taken  for  public  use,  without  just 
compensation. 


APPENDIX.  409 

ARTICLE  THE  SIXTH.  In  all  criminal  prosecutions,  the  accused  shall  enjoy 
the  right  to  a  speedy  and  public  trial,  by  an  impartial  jury  of  the  State  and 
district  wherein  the  crime  shall  have  been  committed,  which  district  shall  have 
been  previously  ascertained  by  law,  and  to  be  informed  of  the  nature  and  cause 
of  the  accusation  ;  to  be  confronted  with  the  witnesses  against  him  ;  to  have 
compulsory  process  for  obtaining  witnesses  in  his  favor,  and  to  have  the 
assistance  of  counsel  for  his  defence. 

ARTICLE  THE  SEVENTH.  In  suits  at  common  law,  where  the  value  in  con 
troversy  shall  exceed  twenty  dollars,  the  right  of  trial  by  jury  shall  be 
preserved,  and  no  fact  tried  by  a  jury  shall  be  otherwise  reexamined  in  any 
court  of  the  United  States,  than  according  to  the  rules  of  common  law. 

ARTICLE  THE  EIGHTH.  Excessive  bail  shall  not  be  required,  nor  excessive 
fines  imposed,  nor  cruel  and  unusual  punishment  inflicted. 

ARTICLE  THE  NINTH.  The  enumeration,  in  the  Constitution,  of  certain 
rights  shall  not  be  construed  to  deny  or  disparage  others  retained  by  the 
people. 

ARTICLE  THE  TENTH.  The  powers  not  delegated  to  the  United  States  by 
the  Constitution,  nor  prohibited  by  it  to  the  States,  are  reserved  to  the  States 
respectively,  or  to  the  people. 

ARTICLE  THE  ELEVENTH.  The  judicial  power  of  the  United  States  shall 
not  be  construed  to  extend  to  any  suit  in  law  or  equity,  commenced  or  prose- 
cuted  against  one  of  the  United  States  by  citizens  of  another  State,  or  by 
citizens  or  subjects  of  any  foreign  state. 

ARTICLE  THE  TWELFTH.  The  electors  shall  meet  in  their  respective  States, 
and  vote  by  ballot  for  President  and  Vice-President,  one  of  whom,  at  least, 
shall  not  be  an  inhabitant  of  the  same  State  with  themselves  ;  they  shall  name 
in  their  ballots  the  person  voted  for  as  President,  and  in  distinct  ballots  the 
person  voted  for  as  Vice-President,  and  they  shall  make  distinct  lists  of  all 
persons  voted  for  as  President,  and  of  all  persons  voted  for  as  Vice-President, 
and  of  the  number  of  votes  for  each,  which  lists  they  shall  sign  and  certify, 
and  transmit  sealed  to  the  seat  of  the  Government  of  the  United  States, 
directed  to  the  President  of  the  Senate ;  the  President  of  the  Senate  shall,  in 
the  presence  of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives,  open  all  the  certifi 
cates,  and  the  votes  shall  then  be  counted  ;  the  person  having  the  greatest 
number  of  votes  for  President,  shall  be  the  President,  if  such  number  be  a 
majority  of  the  whole  number  of  electors  appointed;  and  if  no  person  have 
such  majority,  then  from  the  persons  having  the  highest  numbers  not  exceed 
ing  three  on  the  list  of  those  voted  for  as  President,  the  House  of  Repre 
sentatives  shall  choose  immediately,  by  ballot,  the  President.  But  in  choosing 
the  President,  the  votes  shall  betaken  by  States,  the  representation  from  each 
State  having  one  vote ;  a  quorum  for  this  purpose  shall  consist  of  member  or 
members  from  two-thirds  of  the  States,  and  a  majority  of  all  the  States  shall 
be  necessary  to  a  choice.  And  if  the  House  of  Representatives  shall  not  choose 
a  President  whenever  the  right  of  choice  shall  devolve  upon  them,  before  the 
fourth  day  of  March  next  following,  then  the  Vice-President  shall  act  as  Presi 
dent,  as  in  the  case  of  the  death  or  other  constitutional  disability  of  the 
President.  The  person  having  the  greatest  number  of  votes  as  Vice-President, 
shall  be  the  Vice-President,  if  such  number  be  a  majority  of  the  whole  num 
ber  of  electors  appointed,  and  if  no  person  have  a  majority,  then  from  the 
two  highest  numbers  on  the  list,  the  Senate  shall  choose  the  Vice-President ; 
a  quorum  for  the  purpose  shall  consist  of  two-thirds  of  the  whole  number  of 
Senators,  and  a  majority  of  the  whole  number  shall  be  necessary  to  a  choice. 

18 


410 


APPENDIX. 


But  no  person  constitutionally  ineligible  to  the  office  of  President  shall  be 
eligible  to  that  of  Vice-President  of  the  United  States. 

ARTICLE  THE  THIRTEENTH.  Section  1.  Neither  slavery  nor  involuntary 
servitude,  except  as  a  punishment  for  crime,  whereof  the  party  shall  have 
been  duly  convicted,  shall  exist  in  the  United  States,  or  any  place  subject  to 
their  jurisdiction. 

Section  2.  Congress  shall  have  power  to  enforce  this  article  by  appropri 
ate  legislation. 


144.— APPENDIX  No.  2. 

THE  Chief  Justice  said :  Senators,  in  conformity  to  the  order  of  the  Senate, 
the  Chief  Jusitce  will  now  proceed  to  take  the  vote  on  the  eleventh  article, 
as  directed  by  the  rule. 

The  eleventh  article  was  read  by  the  clerk. 

The  first  name  on  the  roll,  that  of  Senator  Anthony,  being  called,  that 
Senator  rose  in  his  place,  and  the  Chief  Justice,  also  standing,  addressed 
to  him  this  formula : 

Mr.  Senator  Anthony  :  How  say  you,  is  the  respondent,  Andrew  Johnson, 
President  of  the  United'  States,  guilty  or  not  guilty  of  a  high  misdemeanor, 
as  charged  in  this  article  ? 

Senator  Anthony  responded  "guilty,"  and  so  the  vote  went  on  till  all 
the  Senators  had  responded,  the  vote  summing  up,  yeas  35,  nays  19,  as 
follows : 


1.  ANTHONY, 

2.  CAMERON, 

3.  CATTELL, 

4.  CHANDLER, 

5.  COLE, 

0.  CONKLING, 

7.  CONNESS, 

8.  CORBETT, 

9.  CRAGIN, 

10.  DRAKE, 

11.  EDMUNDS, 

12.  FERRY, 


THE    TEST    VOTE. 

FOR  CONVICTION. 

13.  FRELINGHUYSEN, 

14.  HARLAN, 

15.  HOWARD, 

16.  HOWE, 

17.  MORGAN, 

18.  MORRILL  (Me.), 

19.  MORRILL  (Vt.), 

20.  MORTON, 

21.  NYE, 

22.  PATTERSON  (N.  H.), 

23.  POMEROY, 

24.  RAMSEY, 

FOR  ACQUITTAL. 


25.  SHERMAN, 
2ti.  SPRAGUE, 

27.  STEWART, 

28.  SUMNER, 

29.  THAYER, 

30.  TIPTON, 

31.  WADE, 

32.  WILLEY, 

33.  WILLIAMS, 

34.  WILSON, 

35.  YATES. 


1.  BAYARD, 
2.  BUCKALEW, 
3.  DAVIS, 
4.  DIXON, 
5.  DOO  LITTLE, 
6.  FEtiSENDEN, 
7.  FOWLER, 

Kcpiiblicfms        . 

8.  GRIMES. 

9.  JTENDERKON, 
10.  HENDRICKS, 

11.  JOHNSON, 
12.  McCREERY, 
13.  NORTON, 

FOR  CONVICTION. 

14.  PATTERSON  (Term.), 
15.  ROSS, 
1(5.  SAULSBURY, 
17.   TRUMBULL, 
18.   VAN  WINKLE, 
19.  TICKERS. 

35 

0 

FOR  ACQUITTAL. 

..  7 

Democrats.  .  . 

12 

[The  names  of  the  Republican  Senators  voting  for  acquittal  are  printed  in  zldics.] 


APPENDIX.  411 


CONGRESS.— SENATE,  MAY  26. 

On  the  assembling  of  the  Senate,  the  Chief  Justice  took  the  chair  as 
presiding  officer  of  the  Court  of  Impeachment. 

Mr.  Stevens  was  not  present  with  the  managers. 

Messrs.  Stanbery,  Evarts,  and  Nelson,  represented  the  President.  Every 
Senator  was  in  his  seat. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  Williams,  the  resolution  as  to  the  order  of  reading  and 
voting  on  the  articles  was  rescinded.  Yeas  29,  nays  25,  as  follows : 

Nays — Messrs.  Anthony,  Bayard,  Buckalew,  Corbett,  Davis,  Dixon,  Doo- 
little,  Edmunds,  Ferry,  Fessenden,  Fowler,  Grimes,  Henderson,  Hendricks, 
Johnson,  McCreery,  Morrill  of  Vt.,  Morton,  Patterson  of  N..H.,  Patterson 
of  Term.,  Saulsbury,  Trumbull,  Van  Winkle,  and  Vickers— 25. 

Yeas — Messrs.  Cameron,  Cattell,  Chandler,  Conkling,  Conness,  Cragin, 
Drake,  Frelinghuysen,  Harlan,  Howard,  Howe,  Morgan,  Morrill  of  Maine, 
Morton,  Nye,  Pomerov,  Ramsey,  Ross,  Sherman,  Sprague,  Stewart,  Sumner, 
Thayer,  Tipton,  Wade,  Williams,  Wilson,  and  Yates— 29. 

Mr.  Conkling  moved  to  vote  on  the  remaining  articles  in  their  order. 
Lost — 26  to  28. 

Mr.  Williams  modified  his  resolution  so  as  to  rescind  all  orders  relating  to 
the  time  of  voting,  and  Mr.  Trumbull  raised  a  point  of  order  that  this  could 
not  be  done. 

The  point  was  not  sustained  by  the  Senate — 24  to  30. 

Mr.  Morrill,  of  Maine,  moved  an  adjournment  to  the  23d  of  June.  The 
vote  resulted  in  a  tie  vote,  and  the  Chief  Justice  declared  it  lost. 

The  vote  was  then  taken  on  the  second  article,  and  resulted:  Guilty  35, 
not  guilty  19.  Same  as  on  the  eleventh  article. 

A  vote  was  then  taken  on  the  third  article,  and  it  resulted  the  same. 

Mr.  Williams  then  moved  that  the  Court  adjourn  sine  die,  which  was  car 
ried,  3-1  to  1C,  the  anti-impeachment  Senators  voting  in  the  negative. 

The  Court  then  adjourned  sine  die. 


ALPHABETICAL  INDEX. 


Adams,  John,  administration,  8. 
his  patriotism  and  mistakes,  9. 
elector  for  Monroe  and  Tompkins,  13. 
died  July  4, 1824. 
Adams,   John    Quincy,    on   the   Federal 

party,  39,  40. 

proves  their  disunion  proclivities,  81. 
was  in  Monroe's  cabinet,  111. 
elected  President,  118. 
favored  Federal  Government  making 

roads,  etc.,  120. 
rendered  good  service  before  and  after 

he  was  President,  120. 
negotiated  for  Florida,  110. 
had  no  party  to  sustain  him  as  Presi 
dent,  119. 

Albany,  city  of,  voted  not  to  read  Declara 
tion  of  Independence,  32. 
Anti-Democratic  principles,  6. 
Anti-Democrats  during  the  War  of  1812, 

71,  72. 

Anti-Democratic  naturalization  laws,  11. 
Anti-Masonry,  political,  128. 
Arkansas,  reorganization  under  Lincoln, 

304. 

Army  and  its  officers,  63. 
General  Pike.  64. 

Macomb,  65. 
Wool,  65. 
Brown,  66. 
Jackson.  67. 
Eipley,  69. 
Porter,  69. 
Worth,  70. 

Banking  system  of  Secretary  Chase,  288. 

unconstitutional  and  void,  289. 

no  money — nothing  but  debt,  290. 
Banks  and  banking  in  New  York,  108. 
Bank  of  the  United  States,  136. 

unconstitutional  and  void,  137. 

removal  of  deposits  from,  138. 

contest  with  General  Jackson,  140. 
Banks  of  the  States,  taxed  to  death  and 

destroyed,  215. 
Benton,  Thomas  H.,  166. 
Blount,  dismissed  by  Senate,  36. 
British,  claim  of  American  citizens,  42. 

Federalists  sustained  them,  43. 
Brown,  John,  at  Harper's  Ferry,  240. 
Buchanan,  James,  2-18. 

his  administration,  251. 

Kansas  matter,  252. 


Buchanan— 

his  calls  upon  Congress,  about  dis 
union,  253. 

his  defence  complete,  257. 
Bureau,  Freedmen's,  309. 
unconstitutional,  310. 
extended  in  1865,  and  its  real  objects, 

311. 
to  be  further  extended,  313. 

Capital,  slander,  as  political,  366. 
Caucus,  congressional,  307. 

effect  on  legislation,  308. 
Chase,  S.  P.,  calling  clergy  for  political 

assistance,  316. 
a  good  citizen   and  judge,  but   not 

banker  or  financier,  391. 
Clay,  Henry,  reply  to  Quincy,  49. 

resolution  condemning  General  Jack 
son,  143. 
Clergy,  American,  mistakes  of,  315. 

acting  in  the  name  of  the  Almighty 

in  politics,  216. 
Clinton,  George,  34. 

Vice-Prcsident,  36. 
Conclusion,  396. 

Committees,  congressional  fishing,  294. 
Congress  and  Supreme  Court,  344,  317. 
Constitutions,  2. 
present,  400. 

proposed  14th  amendment,  319. 
Court,  destruction  of,  in  District  of  Co 
lumbia,  348. 

Debt,  our  public,  389. 
Democratic  principles,  4. 
Department,  new,  of  tyranny,  492. 
Distress  of  politicians,  149. 
Distribution  of  revenue,  159. 
Disunion,  proposed  by  Federalists,  80. 

by  Hartford  Convention,  81. 

by  others,  82,  83. 
Dix,  John  A.,  sketch  of,  207. 

what  Kepublicaus  feared,  211. 

Election,  1840,  199. 

England,  New,  clergymen  preaching  poli 
tics,  27. 

Embargo,  recommended  by  Jefferson,  29. 
speeches,  sermons,  and  newspapers 

against,  30. 
why  abandoned,  38. 
Equality,  true  basis  of  legislation,  121. 


INDEX. 


413 


Extravagance,  Congress  responsible  for, 
unauthorized  appropriations,  222,  228. 

Federalists  favor  disunion,  80. 

course  in  relation  to  war,  47,  50. 

when  against  their  own  country,  33. 
Fillmore,  Millard,  237. 

occurrences  while  President,  238. 

capacity  for  business— political  views, 

239,  240. 
First  gun,  266. 
Flagg,  A.  C..  242. 
Florida,  acquisition  of,  110. 
Free  trade  and  sailors1  rights,  41. 

Gerry,  Elbridge,  elected  Vice-President, 

94. 
Gold  currency,  156. 

real  money,  159. 

gold  dollars,  158. 
Government,  forms  of,  1. 

self-government,  4. 

Habeas  corpus,  suspension  of,  270. 

General  Jackson  did  not  suspend,  99. 
Hartford  Convention,  85. 

sketch  of,  85  to  92. 

History  of  Democracy  being  prepared,  7. 
Hoffman,  Michael,  145. 

sketch  of,  146. 

Impeachments,  36. 

of  Jefierson,  Pickering,  Peck,  Chase, 
Humphreys,  and  President  Johnson, 
86. 
Internal  improvements,  132. 

veto  by  General  Jackson,  134. 
Governor  Seward's  recommendation, 

1:35. 
Issues  to  be  tried  by  the  people,  376. 

Jackson,  Andrew,  as  a  general,  67. 
battle  of  New  Orleans,  97. 
did  not  suspend  habeas  corpus,  99. 
how  he  treated  mutineers,  100. 
vetoed  the  United  States  Bank,  and 

removed  deposits,  140. 
removal  of  Duane,  141. 
protest  to  the  Senate,  143. 
Farewell  Address,  165. 
devotion  to  his  wife,  183. 
Jefferson,  Thomas,  attempt  to  deprive  of 

election,  14. 
his  marriage,  temper,  and  disposition, 

16. 

was  a  musician,  1C. 
on  contracting  debts,  17. 


his  political  principles,  18. 
extracts  from  first  in 


inaugural,  21. 
proposition  to  impeach,  36. 

Johnson,  Andrew,  333. 

mistakes  and  his  record,  335. 
charges  against,  and  trial,  240. 
vote  on,  see  Appendix  No.  2. 
matters  with  Stanton,  362. 

Johnson,  Cave,  extract  from  letters,  267. 

Johnston,  General,  cause  of  failure  of  re 
bellion.  349,  351. 

Loans,  Federalists  tried  to-prevent  Gov 
ernment  obtaining,  51. 


Lincoln,  Abraham,  259. 
in  Congress,  259. 
his  political  opinions,  200. 
made  no  recommendation  to  prevent 

war,  264. 
Lowell,  his  pamphlet  against  the  War  of 

1812,  74. 

Louisiana,  reorganization  of,  under  Lin 
coin,  304. 

Madison,  James,  45. 

elected  to  Congress,  45. 

Secretary  of  State,  46. 

elected  and  reflected  President,  47-91. 

an  able  writer,  47. 
Majorities,  tyranny  of,  257. 
Marcy,  W.  L.,  Koszta  letter,  42. 

took  first  prisoners  and  colors,  126. 

elected  and  reflected  Governor,  126. 

Secretary  of  War  and  State,  126,  127. 
Monroe,  James,  election  as  President,  102. 

sent  abroad,  103. 

remarks  on  bis  administration,  111. 
Military  commissions,  trials  by.  276. 

trial  of  North  and  others,  277. 

decided  to  be  unconstitutional,  278. 
Moral  and  religious  people,  unbecoming 
to  celebrate  our  victories,  73. 

National  Government,  expenses  of,  384. 
Navy  and  naval  heroes,  51. 

Bainbridgc,  53. 

Stewart,  54. 

Decatur,  55. 

Hull,  56. 

Perry,  57. 

Rodgers,  58. 

Macdonough,  59. 

Lawrence,  60. 

Porter,  61. 

Negro  fighting  and  loyalty,  360. 
New  York,  conventions  to  amend  consti 
tutions,  112. 

New  England,  political  clergymen  in,  72. 
New  Orleans,  battle  of,  97. 

Objects  of  the  war,  279. 
what  Lincoln  said,  280. 
what  Congress  did,  281. 
later  professions,  282. 

Party  names,  3. 

Pickering,  Timothy,  his  contradictions  on 

impressments,  44. 
Pierce,  Franklin,  bis  administration,  216. 

Kansas  difficulties,  during,  248. 
Pirates  and  freedom  of  the  seas,  26. 
Plummer,  Governor,  gives  plans  of  dis- 

unionists,  80. 

Power,  Republican  struggle  for,  301. 
Polk,  James   K.,  his  election  as  Presi 
dent,  231. 
sketch  of,  and  of  his  administration, 

232,  233. 
Mexican  War  and  Oregon  question, 

233. 

discovery  of  gold— passing  Sub-Treas 
ury,  234. 

Prisoners,  non-exchange  during  war,  349. 
cause  of— Grant  ajid  Stanton,  351. 
what  Swin ton  says,  351. 


414 


INDEX. 


Precedents,  force  of  bad,  215. 

Voting  to  pay  expenses  of  election, 

216. 

Press  and  telegraph,  American,  323. 
their  uses  and  abuse?,  324. 
misrepresentation   of  Chief  -  Justice 

Taney,  325. 
Protective  system,  152. 

its  bad  consequences,  153. 
if  amount  of,  is  stated  in  account,  who 
would  pay,  155. 

Quincy,  Josiah,  impeachment  of  Jeffer 
son,  36. 

his  speeches,  extracts  from,  49,  50,  72, 
73. 

Randall,  his  life  of  Jefferson,  79. 
Reconstruction,  Lincoln's  first  plan,  297. 
Arkansas  and  Louisiana,  298. 
later  plans,  320. 
negroes,  injury  to,  by  reconstruction, 

299. 

Reorganization,  in  Louisiana  and  Arkan 
sas,  304. 

failure  of  Lincoln's  plan,  306. 
Redfield,  Heman  J.,  sketch  of,  218. 

course  of  New  York  electoral  law, 

219 
Naval  Officer  and  Collector  in  New 

York,  220. 

served  in  War  of  1812,  219. 
Republican  governments,  3. 
Removals  from  office,  147. 

Governor  Marcy's  views  on,  128. 
action    of  all    Presidents,  including 

Lincoln,  148. 
Richmond,  Dean,  357. 

business  talent,   and   knowledge  of 

public  affairs,  358. 
ideas  of  the  duties  of  men,  359. 
Revolution,  political,  of  1800,  and  causes, 

13. 
consequences,  how  long  continued,  13. 

Sectionalism  and  its  supporters,  187. 
why  Lincoln  was  nominated,  254. 
Secession,  proposed  in  New  England,  29. 
extracts  from  speeches,  sermons,  and 

newspapers,  29-32. 
Sedition  Laws  revived  on  impeaching  the 

President,  394. 
Seymour,  Horatio,  what  he  said  of  the 

President,  336. 
slandered,  and  slanders  refuted,  366, 

367. 

Specie  Circular  and  its  effects,  163. 
Spies  and  secret  Government  agents,  273. 
Spiritualists,   socialists,  free-lovers,    and 

perfectionists,  4. 


Stanton,  E.  M.,  and  his  course,  362. 

his  course  about  exchange  of  prison 
ers,  349. 

an  instrument  of  radical  Republicans, 

365. 

States,  secession,  never  out  of  the  Union, 
327. 

Lincoln's  opinion,  328. 

Congress  resolution,  330. 

Supreme  Court  opinion,  331, 

how  the  question  stands,  332. 

other  States  in  danger,  372. 

what  Sumner  says,  375. 
Sub-Treasury,  established,  repealed,  and 
reestablished,  19-5. 

Taney,  Chief-Justice,  his  Dred  Scott  de 
cision  falsified,  325. 
Tariff  duties,  202. 

unconstitutional  when  not  for  reve 
nue,  205. 

difficulties  it  occasions,  206. 
Taxes,  internal    revenue,    incongruities 

and  absurdities,  312. 
attempt   by,  to  alter   contracts  and 

State  laws,  214. 
Taylor,  Zachary,  and  his  administration, 

235. 

well-meaning  and  honest  man,  236. 
Test  vote,  410. 
Toast  at  the  Madison-Richmond  dinner 

in  1808,  32. 
Tompkius,  Daniel  D.,  32. 

great  usefulness  as  Governor,  75. 
indorses  notes  for  the  United  States, 

77. 
elected  Vicc-President   in  1816,  and 

reflected  in  1820,  78. 
a  great  and  good  man,  79. 
Tyler,  John,  and  his  administration,  228. 
attempt  to  form  a  new  party,  229. 

Van  Buren,  Martin,  sketch  of,  188. 

elected  Governor  and  United  States 
Secretary  of  State,  190. 

rejected  as  minister  to  England,  and 
its  consequences,  190. 

elected     President — projected     Sub- 
Treasury,  195. 

Washington,  George,  his  administration, 
8. 

his  wisdom  and  firmness,  8. 

his  Farewell  Address  and  its  warn 
ings,  173. 
Wright,  Silas,  sketch  of,  176. 

at  home,  177. 

impulses  and  amusements,  178. 

offices  he  held,  181. 

as  a  speaker,  180. 

declined  numerous  offices,  182. 


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